Sphagnum fimbriatum |
Sphagnum austinii |
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fringe bogmoss, fringe peat-moss, sphagnum |
Austin's peat-moss, Austin's sphagnum |
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Habit | Plants typically small and slender, larger and compact in the Arctic, capitulum small to moderate-sized, often with a conspicuous terminal bud; green, yellowish brown to brown; without metallic lustre when dry. | Plants moderate-sized to large, usually quite compact; reddish brown and often yellow flecked with red-brown; in dense stands forming large and tall hummocks. | ||||
Stem(s) | leaves spatulate to broad-spatulate, 0.8–1.5(–2) mm, strongly lacerate across the broad apex and often part way down the margins, border scarcely to strongly broadened at base (0.25 width of base or less); hyaline cells rhomboid, efibrillose and often 1–2-septate. |
leaves 1.2–1.6 × 1 mm; rarely hemiisophyllous; hyaline cells nonseptate or more typically mostly septate, comb-lamellae present on interior wall. |
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Branches | not 5-ranked, quite terete, long, and slender Branch fascicles with 1– 2 spreading and 1–2 pendent branches. |
clavate, tapering to short point, tightly imbricate at proximal end to somewhat spreading at distal end in less compact forms. |
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Branch leaves | ovate to ovate-lanceolate; 1.1–1.5(–2) mm, slightly concave, straight; apex involute; margins entire; hyaline cells on convex surface with numerous pores along the commissures grading from small pores near leaf apex to large pores at base, concave surface with large round pores at leaf apex and along margins. |
ovate-elliptical to elliptical, 1.5–2.1 × 0.8–1.4 mm; hyaline cells on convex surface with numerous moderate-sized round pores along the commissures, comb-lamellae present throughout most of leaf; chlorophyllous cells broadly triangular in transverse section and well-enclosed on the convex surface, end wall not thickened. |
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Sexual condition | often monoicous. |
dioicous. |
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Capsule | with scattered pseudostomata. |
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Spores | 20–27 µm, finely papillose on both surfaces; proximal laesura less than 0.5 spore radius. |
23–28 µm; coarsely granulate on both surfaces; proximal laesura more than 0.50 spore radius. |
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Branch | fascicles with 2 spreading and 1 pendent branch.; branch stems with cortical cell comb-lamellae visible on interior wall, conspicuous funnel-like projection on interior end walls extending to next cell less than one half its length, pores in superficial wall restricted to leaf bases. |
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Sphagnum fimbriatum |
Sphagnum austinii |
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Phenology | Capsules common, mature mid summer. | |||||
Habitat | Ombrotrophic mires and large hummocks in blanket mires | |||||
Elevation | low to moderate elevations | |||||
Distribution |
North America; South America; Eurasia; Pacific Islands (New Zealand)
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AK; MA; ME; NJ; VT; WA; BC; NB; NF; NS; Europe |
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Discussion | Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Sphagnum austinii is usually easily recognized in the field by its strongly imbricate and clavate branches. It forms very dense and often tall hummocks with a distinct deep golden brown color. In contrast to the view stated by H. A. Crum (1997), this species has an ecology and distribution quite distinct from those of S. affine. Sphagnum affine is a minerotrophic species that does not even occur in the Pacific coast region, where S. austinii is quite prominent. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 27, p. 92. | FNA vol. 27, p. 50. | ||||
Parent taxa | Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Acutifolia | Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Sphagnum | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | S. cymbifolium subsp. austinii, S. cymbifolium var. austinii, S. imbricatum subsp. austinii | |||||
Name authority | Wilson & Hooker: in J. D. Hooker, Fl. Antarct., 398. (1847) | Sullivant: in C. F. Austin, Musci Appalach., 2. 1870 (as austini), | ||||
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