Sphagnum isoviitae |
Sphagnum palustre |
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blunt-leaf bogmoss, blunt-leaf peat-moss, prairie sphagnum |
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Habit | 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. | Plants moderate-sized to robust, strong-stemmed, lax to somewhat compact, capitulum somewhat flattened to more typically compact and rounded; green to golden brown to pale brown with often a pinkish tinge; carpets to more or less compact, low to moderate sized hummocks. |
Stem(s) | 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. |
leaves to 1.7 × 1 mm, occasionally longer; rarely hemiisophyllous; hyaline cells non-ornamented, nonseptate. |
Branches | ± straight and somewhat tapered, usually 5-ranked, leaves not greatly elongated at branch distal end. |
long and tapering, leaves ± imbricate to spreading in shade forms. |
Branch leaves | 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. |
broadly ovate, 2.2 × 1.3 mm, hyaline cells non-ornamented, convex surface with elliptic pores along the commissures, chlorophyllous cells isosceles-triangular to ovate-triangular in transverse section and just enclosed to just exposed on the convex surface; end wall not thickened. |
Sexual condition | dioicous. |
dioicous. |
Capsule | with numerous pseudostomata. |
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Spores | 24–33 µm; finely papillose on the superficial surface. |
24–33 µm, surface finely papillose to smooth, distal surface with distinct bifurcated Y-mark sculpture; proximal laesura more than 0.6 spore radius. |
Branch | 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. |
fascicles with 2 spreading and 2 pendent branches.; branch stems with hyaline cells non-ornamented; no or weak funnel-like projections on the interior end walls, often with 1 large pore per cell on superficial cell walls. |
Sphagnum isoviitae |
Sphagnum palustre |
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Phenology | Capsules mature mid to late summer. | |
Habitat | 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 | Widespread in forested fens and poor to rich sedge fens |
Elevation | low to moderate elevations | low to moderate elevations |
Distribution |
CT; IN; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; VA; VT; WV; AB; NF; NS; QC; Europe |
AL; AR; CA; CT; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; SC; TN; TX; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; BC; NB; NF; NS; ON; PE; QC; Europe; Pacific Islands
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Discussion | 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.) |
Sphagnum palustre may occur elsewhere than listed above, but the taxonomy is unclear. In some open-grown situations, it may have a reddish tinge and seem similar to S. magellanicum, but this is a pinkish red color rather than the purplish red of the latter. See discussions under 5. S. henryense and 9. S. papillosum for distinction from those species. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 27, p. 68. | FNA vol. 27, p. 53. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. cymbifolium | |
Name authority | Flatberg: J. Bryol. 17: 2, figs. 1, 2. (1992) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 1106. (1753) |
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