Sphagnum cuspidatum |
Sphagnum isoviitae |
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feathery bog-moss, feathery peat-moss, tooth 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 and moderately weak-stemmed to moderately stiff; green, brownish green to brown; capitulum flat-topped and 5-radiate, terminal bud often visible. |
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 triangular to lingulate-triangular, equal to or more than 0.8 mm, spreading to appressed; apex acute to apiculate, hyaline cells mostly efibrillose and nonseptate. |
Branches | mostly unranked to weakly 5-ranked, often conspicuously falcate, leaves greatly elongated at distal end. |
± straight and somewhat tapered, usually 5-ranked, leaves not greatly elongated at branch distal end. |
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. |
narrowly ovate-lanceolate, greater than 1.2 mm, straight, slightly undulate and weakly recurved when dry, margins entire; hyaline cells on convex surface with 1 pore per cell in apical end, on concave surface with round wall thinnings in the cell ends and angles; chlorophyllous cells in transverse section triangular to ovate-triangular and well-enclosed on the concave surface. |
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. |
24–33 µm; finely papillose on the superficial surface. |
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 2–3 pendent branches.; branch stems green and often reddish at proximal end, with cortex enlarged with conspicuous retort cells. |
Sphagnum cuspidatum |
Sphagnum isoviitae |
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Habitat | Widespread forming wet carpets in ombrotrophic to weakly minerotrophic mires | Forming carpets in a wide variety of poor to medium fen habitats of both mire edge and mire wide character, not found in ombrotrophic mires |
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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CT; IN; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; VA; VT; WV; AB; 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 are uncommon in Sphagnum isoviitae. See discussion under 26. S. brevifolium and 28. S. fallax for distinction from these similar species. Sphagnum isoviitae has no range overlap with S. pacificum, the other North American species of the S. recurvum complex with apiculate stem leaves; the sharply recurved branch leaves of the latter, however, would separate it easily in any case. Spore features are those given by Flatberg. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 27, p. 66. | FNA vol. 27, p. 68. |
Parent taxa | Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Cuspidata | Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Cuspidata |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. cuspidatum var. plumosum, S. faxonii, S. virginianum | |
Name authority | Hoffman: Deutschl. Fl. 2: 22. (1796) | Flatberg: J. Bryol. 17: 2, figs. 1, 2. (1992) |
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