Sphagnum cuspidatum
Sphagnum tenerum
feathery bog-moss, feathery peat-moss, tooth sphagnum
sphagnum
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 1.4–1.8 mm, elongate-triangular, lingulate-triangular, hemiisophyllous forms elongate triangular-ovate, 1.4–1.8 mm, apex usually conspicuously toothed, border narrow at base (less than 0.25 width);
hyaline cells narrowly rhombic to S-shaped, can be efibrillose and aporose but more commonly fibrillose and porose, 0–1-septate.
mostly unranked to weakly 5-ranked, often conspicuously falcate, leaves greatly elongated at distal end.
turgid and terete, leaves, not 5-ranked.
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, 1.1–1.7 mm, slightly concave, straight, apex weakly involute and conspicuously toothed;
hyaline cells on the convex surface with round to elliptic pores along the commissures, grading from moderate-sized pores near apex to large pores at leaf base, concave surface with large round pores throughout.
dioicous.
uncertain, monoicous or dioicous or possibly both.
29–38 µm; covered with large papillae on both surfaces, appearing pusticulate;
proximal laesura less than 0.5 spore radius.
22–25 µm, finely roughened.
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 tenerum
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 Spagnum tenerum. The sexual condition is uncertain because of past taxonomic confusion with S. capillifolium (R. E. Andrus 1980). Sphagnum tenerum is usually described (incorrectly) as having hemiisophyllous stem leaves, and many collections of other species of sect. Acutifolia with such leaves have been called S. tenerum. When correctly characterized, S. tenerum is can be confused only with S. capillifolium, with which it has only a very small range overlap. Microscopically, besides the otherwise quite different S. angermanicum, S. tenerum is the only species of sect. Acutifolia with large round free pores in most of the branch leaf hyaline cells on their concave surfaces. See also discussion under 71. S. capillifolium. Sexual condition and spore features were taken from H. A. Crum (1984).
The name Sphagnum evansii Warnstorf has also been used for this taxon.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
BC
IL Wildflowers
KS Wildflowers
MD Biodiversity
MI Flora
MN Wildflowers
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
