Sphagnum fuscum
Sphagnum mcqueenii
common brown peat-moss, rusty bogmoss, rusty peat moss, sphagnum
leaves lingulate, 0.8–1.3 mm;
apex broadly rounded and entire to lacerate, sometimes slightly mucronate or slightly denticulate;
hyaline cells rhombic, 0–1(–2)-septate, usually efibrillose.
leaves equilateral triangular, 0.8–1.1 mm; often spreading;
apex more or less obtuse;
leaves often spreading;
hyaline cells usually septate and often fibrillose in proximal half of leaf.
long and slender to short and compact, unranked to 5-ranked.
unranked, ± straight, leaves moderately elongated at distal end.
ovate-lanceolate, 1.1–1.3 mm, straight, concave, apex strongly involute;
margins entire, hyaline cells on convex surface with round to elliptic pores along the commissures, grading from small pores near the leaf apex to large pores near the base, concave surface with large round pores in proximal marginal regions of leaf.
ovate-lanceolate, less than 2.2 mm, straight; undulate and sharply recurved when dry;
margins entire;
hyaline cells on convex surface with 0–1 apical pores and often with pseudopores, concave surface with to 12 round wall thinnings in cell angles and sometimes along commissures; chlorophyllous cells triangular in transverse section, just enclosed on the concave surface and broadly exposed on the convex surface.
dioicous.
unknown.
17–30 µm, finely papillose on proximal surface and pusticulate on distal surface;
proximal laesura less than 0.5 spore radius.
not seen.
fascicles with 2 spreading and 1–2 pendent branches.
fascicles with 2 spreading and 1–2 pendent branches.;
branch stems green, with cortex enlarged with conspicuous retort cells.
Sphagnum fuscum
Sphagnum mcqueenii
Sphagnum fuscum is common in ombrotrophic mires and alpine mountain summits where it may form small to large hummocks to 1 m in height, more infrequently in weakly minerotrophic mires and richer fens.
Sporophytes are common in Sphagnum fuscum, which is associated with S. angustifolium, S. fallax, S. magellanicum, S. papillosum, and more infrequently with S. teres, and S. warnstorfii in richer sites. Very widespread but generally easily recognized, it is the only small brown hummock-forming species of sect. Acutifolia over most of its range. There are some significant variations in this species. The stem leaves can vary from having a rounded, entire apex to having a somewhat flat and lacerate apex. The branches also vary from being unranked and slender to 5-ranked and blunt. The color also can vary from a light to a dark brown. There does not seem, however, to be any consistent pattern to these variations and thus no taxonomic recognition has been given to them. See also discussion under 73. S. flavicomans.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Sporophytes of Sphagnum mcqueenii are unknown. Sphagnum torreyanum and S. atlanticum both have longer, narrower, and less sharply recurved branch leaves than does S. mcqueenii. Both S. cuspidatum and S. viride have acute stem leaves as compared to the obtuse stem leaves of this species. Sphagnum pulchrum has 5-ranked branch leaves and apiculate stem leaves, which contrast strongly with the unranked branch leaves and obtuse stem leaves of this species.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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