Sphagnum cuspidatum |
Sphagnum angermanicum |
|
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feathery bog-moss, feathery peat-moss, tooth sphagnum |
angerman's sphagnum |
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Habit | Plants slender and weak-stemmed, moderate-sized, flaccid and plumose in aquatic forms to more compact in emergent forms, spreading branches often conspicuously falcate, giving capitulum a twisted appearance; green to yellow, often tinged with red, red-brown or brown in capitula. | Plants moderate-sized, soft and lax, capitulum large with head branches that are typically distinctively blunt and transversely flattened; usually pale green with a weak purplish coloration evident late in the growing season, often with a weak metallic luster when dry. |
Stem(s) | leaves triangular-ovate, more than 1.2 mm, usually appressed; apex acute to apiculate, hyaline cells rarely septate or porose, apical region often fibrillose. |
leaves lingulate to spatulate, widest above middle (1.5 times as wide as the base), 1.5–2.5 mm, apex obtuse and dentate to lacerate; border entire and little broadened at base, hyaline cells elongated-rhomboid, normally 1-septate, strongly fibrillose in distal portion, convex surface with numerous large pores and resorption gaps in apical angles, concave surface with large resorption gaps below and large resorption pores above. |
Branches | mostly unranked to weakly 5-ranked, often conspicuously falcate, leaves greatly elongated at distal end. |
unranked, terete. |
Branch leaves | ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, 1.6–5 mm, falcate toward branch tips, when dry often undulate and recurved, rarely weakly serrulate along the margins in submerged forms, leaves from middle of spreading branches with length to width ratio less than or equal to 1:0.28; hyaline cells length to width ratio in apical convex surface region 8:1 or more, convex surface with 0–1 small round pores at apex, concave surface with faint round wall thinnings in cell apices and angles; chlorophyllous cells triangular to trapezoidal in transverse section, broadly exposed on the convex surface and exposed slightly on the concave surface. |
ovate, 1.3–2.5 mm, straight, not concave; apex weakly involute, broadly truncate with 6–10 conspicuous teeth; border entire; hyaline cells on convex surface with elliptic pores (4–8 per cell) along the commissures, concave surface with large round pores in distal half and proximal portion of cells. |
Sexual condition | dioicous. |
dioicous. |
Spores | 29–38 µm; covered with large papillae on both surfaces, appearing pusticulate; proximal laesura less than 0.5 spore radius. |
26–34 µm; finely granulose-roughened. |
Branch | fascicles with 2 spreading and 2–3 pendent branches.; branch stems green, but often pinkish at the proximal ends, with cortex enlarged with conspicuous retort cells. |
fascicles with 2 spreading and 1–2 pendent branches. |
Sphagnum cuspidatum |
Sphagnum angermanicum |
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Habitat | Widespread forming wet carpets in ombrotrophic to weakly minerotrophic mires | Minerotrophic, hydrophytic |
Elevation | low to moderate elevations | low to moderate elevations |
Distribution |
AL; CT; DE; FL; GA; IL; IN; KS; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MS; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; RI; SC; TN; VA; VT; WI; WV; NB; NF; NS; ON; QC; Europe
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MA; ME; NH; NJ; NY; NB; NF; NS; QC; Europe |
Discussion | Distinguishing Sphagnum cuspidatum from S. viride is sometimes difficult, as both occur over a similar geographic range and both grow in wet carpets. Sphagnum cuspidatum has narrower branch leaves and usually a distinct red tinge at the branch bases within the capitulum. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Sporophytes of Sphagnum angermanicum are rare. This is a species associated with typically poor fen species such as S. flavicomans, S. bartlettianum, S. papillosum, S. pulchrum, and S. rubellum. It is usually easily recognized by its pale color and blunt, short and flattened capitulum branches, and also is limited to wetter microsites than most species of sect. Acutifolia and rarely forms hummocks. Spore characters are taken from H. A. Crum (1984). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 27, p. 66. | FNA vol. 27, p. 89. |
Parent taxa | Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Cuspidata | Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Acutifolia |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. cuspidatum var. plumosum, S. faxonii, S. virginianum | S. nemoreum var. angermanicum |
Name authority | Hoffman: Deutschl. Fl. 2: 22. (1796) | Melin: Svensk Bot. Tidskr. 13: 21. (1919) |
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