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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, usually soft and lax, sometimes moderately stiff, capitulum typically enlarged and flat-topped, ± stellate; green to golden brown, unshaded plants often reddish purple, plants with metallic sheen when dry.
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 triangular-lingulate to broadly lingulate, 0.9–1.3 mm, apex broadly rounded to obtusely angled, border very strong and broad at base (more than 0.4 width);

hyaline cells rhombic, efibrillose, most 0–1-septate.

Branches

± straight and somewhat tapered, usually 5-ranked, leaves not greatly elongated at branch distal end.

long, tapering, imbricate, not 5-ranked.

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.

ovate, 2–2.5 mm, concave, straight, apex involute;

hyaline cells on convex surface with elliptic pores along the commissures grading from moderate-sized pores near leaf apex to large pores at the base, concave surface with large round pores in proximal portions of leaf.

Sexual condition

dioicous.

monoicous.

Spores

24–33 µm; finely papillose on the superficial surface.

23–31 µm, irregularly coarsely papillose on both surfaces;

proximal laesura less than or equal to 0.5 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 1–2 pendent branches.

Sphagnum isoviitae

Sphagnum subfulvum

Phenology Capsules mature early 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 Minerotrophic and hygrophytic, forming hummocks in shrubby and wooded medium and rich fens
Elevation low to moderate elevations low to moderate elevations
Distribution
from FNA
CT; IN; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; VA; VT; WV; AB; NF; NS; QC; Europe
from FNA
AK; ME; MI; MN; NH; NJ; NY; VT; BC; NF; ON; QC; YT; Greenland; Eurasia
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.)

Sporophytes of Sphagnum subfulvum are common. This species is associated with S. centrale, S. contortum, S. teres, and S. warnstorfii. Although it is normally more minerotrophic, S. subfulvum does occasionally (in Newfoundland) occur in the same mires as S. flavicomans. The latter lacks the metallic sheen of S. subfulvum and its stem leaves are not as narrow and acute. In some forms S. subfulvum may develop a purplish gloss that may lead to confusion with S. subnitens but the color of that species has a definite red component and its stem leaves are narrower and more sharply pointed than those of S. subfulvum.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 27, p. 68. FNA vol. 27, p. 98.
Parent taxa Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Cuspidata Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Acutifolia
Sibling taxa
S. affine, S. alaskense, S. andersonianum, S. angermanicum, S. angustifolium, S. annulatum, S. aongstroemii, S. arcticum, S. atlanticum, S. austinii, S. balticum, S. bartlettianum, S. beothuk, S. bergianum, S. brevifolium, S. capillifolium, S. carolinianum, S. centrale, S. compactum, S. contortum, S. cribrosum, S. cuspidatum, S. cyclophyllum, S. fallax, S. fimbriatum, S. fitzgeraldii, S. flavicomans, S. flexuosum, S. fuscum, S. girgensohnii, S. henryense, S. imbricatum, S. inexspectatum, S. inundatum, S. jensenii, S. junghuhnianum, S. kenaiense, S. lenense, S. lescurii, S. lindbergii, S. macrophyllum, S. magellanicum, S. majus, S. mcqueenii, S. mendocinum, S. microcarpum, S. mirum, S. mississippiense, S. molle, S. obtusum, S. oregonense, S. orientale, S. pacificum, S. palustre, S. papillosum, S. perfoliatum, S. perichaetiale, S. platyphyllum, S. portoricense, S. pulchrum, S. pylaesii, S. quinquefarium, S. recurvum, S. riparium, S. rubellum, S. rubiginosum, S. rubroflexuosum, S. russowii, S. sitchense, S. splendens, S. squarrosum, S. steerei, S. strictum, S. subfulvum, S. subnitens, S. subsecundum, S. subtile, S. talbotianum, S. tenellum, S. tenerum, S. teres, S. torreyanum, S. trinitense, S. tundrae, S. viride, S. warnstorfii, S. wilfii, S. wulfianum
S. affine, S. alaskense, S. andersonianum, S. angermanicum, S. angustifolium, S. annulatum, S. aongstroemii, S. arcticum, S. atlanticum, S. austinii, S. balticum, S. bartlettianum, S. beothuk, S. bergianum, S. brevifolium, S. capillifolium, S. carolinianum, S. centrale, S. compactum, S. contortum, S. cribrosum, S. cuspidatum, S. cyclophyllum, S. fallax, S. fimbriatum, S. fitzgeraldii, S. flavicomans, S. flexuosum, S. fuscum, S. girgensohnii, S. henryense, S. imbricatum, S. inexspectatum, S. inundatum, S. isoviitae, S. jensenii, S. junghuhnianum, S. kenaiense, S. lenense, S. lescurii, S. lindbergii, S. macrophyllum, S. magellanicum, S. majus, S. mcqueenii, S. mendocinum, S. microcarpum, S. mirum, S. mississippiense, S. molle, S. obtusum, S. oregonense, S. orientale, S. pacificum, S. palustre, S. papillosum, S. perfoliatum, S. perichaetiale, S. platyphyllum, S. portoricense, S. pulchrum, S. pylaesii, S. quinquefarium, S. recurvum, S. riparium, S. rubellum, S. rubiginosum, S. rubroflexuosum, S. russowii, S. sitchense, S. splendens, S. squarrosum, S. steerei, S. strictum, S. subnitens, S. subsecundum, S. subtile, S. talbotianum, S. tenellum, S. tenerum, S. teres, S. torreyanum, S. trinitense, S. tundrae, S. viride, S. warnstorfii, S. wilfii, S. wulfianum
Synonyms S. nitidum
Name authority Flatberg: J. Bryol. 17: 2, figs. 1, 2. (1992) Sjörs: Svensk Bot. Tidskr. 38: 404. (1944)
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