Sphagnum fitzgeraldii |
Sphagnum majus |
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fitzgerald's sphagnum |
olive peat-moss, sphagnum |
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Habit | Plants small and weak-stemmed, flaccid and ± plumose when submerged to (more frequently) sprawling in thin mats; capitulum ± compact and with a strong terminal bud; pale green to greenish white. | Plants moderate-sized to robust, fairly weak-stemmed, lax in submersed forms, ± sprawling in emergent froms; golden brown to dark brown; capitulum weakly 5-radiate, branches straight to strongly laterally curved. | ||||
Stem(s) | pale green; superficial cortex of 1–2 layers of thin-walled and well differentiated cells.; stem leaves large, ovate to oblong-ovate, ca. 2 mm, more or less spreading; apex rounded and serrulate; hyaline cells fibrillose and often 1–septate, convex surface generally aporose, concave surface with 1–several round pores per cell in ends and angles. |
leaves triangular-lingulate, 0.8–1.4 mm, spreading to appressed; apex acute to narrowly obtuse, hyaline cells nonseptate and fibrillose near apex. |
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Branches | unranked to slightly 5-ranked, often short and blunt at distal end. |
unranked or weakly 5-ranked, straight to strongly curved, leaves moderately elongated at distal end. |
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Branch leaves | ovate to oblong-quadrate, 1.2–2.5 mm, not undulate or recurved when dry, strongly toothed across apex and serrulate on margins; hyaline cells with to 4 small round ringed pores at cell ends on convex surface, small round wall thinnings in the cell ends and angles on the concave surface; chlorophyllous cells trapezoidal in transverse section, more broadly exposed on the convex surface. |
ovate-lanceolate to narrowly ovate-lanceolate, 1.8–3.4 mm; straight to strongly subsecund; weakly undulate and recurved when dry; margins entire; hyaline cells on convex surface with 1–2 free pores per fibril interval, concave surface aporose or rarely with a few wall thinnings in cell ends and angles; chlorophyllous cells trapezoidal in transverse section and narrowly exposed on concave surface. |
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Sexual condition | monoicous. |
dioicous. |
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Spores | 38–48 µm; both surfaces covered with fine to moderately coarse papillae; proximal laesura less than 0.4 spore radius. |
33–40 µm. |
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Branch | fascicles with 1–2 spreading and 0–1 pendent branches.; branch stems green, with cortex enlarged with conspicuous retort cells. |
fascicles with 2 spreading and 1–2 pendent branches.; branch stems green but sometimes reddish at proximal end, with cortex enlarged with conspicuous retort cells. |
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Sphagnum fitzgeraldii |
Sphagnum majus |
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Habitat | Commonly in prostrate mats on damp sand, often in recently burned or cleared areas, also occasionally floating in ditches | |||||
Elevation | low elevations | |||||
Distribution |
AL; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC; VA |
North America; Eurasia |
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Discussion | Sporophytes of Sphagnum fitzgeraldii are common, being immersed or exserted. This species is found largely on the Atlantic coastal plain. The wide truncate branch leaves easily distinguish it in most situations. Floating plants are not as quickly identified but can be distinguished from other species of sect. Cuspidata by the branch leaves wider than those of similar species. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 27, p. 67. | FNA vol. 27, p. 70. | ||||
Parent taxa | ||||||
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Synonyms | S. mohrianum | S. cuspidatum var. majus | ||||
Name authority | Lesquereu×& James: Man. 23. (1884) | (Russow) C. E.O. Jensen: in Botaniske Forening København, Festskrift, 106. (1890) | ||||
Web links |