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jensen's sphagnum

imbricate bogmoss, sphagnum

Habit Plants moderate-sized to robust, weak-stemmed; pale brown to chestnut brown; capitulum flat-topped and generally 5-radiate, branches straight to somewhat curved, terminal bud often visible. Plants moderate-sized and lax to somewhat compact, ± stiff-stemmed; moderate-sized to large, forming lawns or low, loose hummocks; green, yellow-brown to golden brown and often tinged with brown to purplish brown; capitulum ± flat in lax open-grown forms to ± rounded and compact in open-grown forms.
Stem(s)

leaves triangular, ovate-triangular to triangular-lingulate, 1–1.3 mm; appressed to spreading;

apex obtuse, hyaline cells usually fibrillose near apex.

leaves to 1.3–1.9 × 0.6–1.2 mm; rarely hemiisophyllous;

hyaline cells non-ornamented, nonseptate or sometimes septate.

Branches

straight to somewhat curved, leaves moderately elongate at distal end.

± tapering, leaves loosely imbricate to spreading and often squarrose in shade forms.

Branch leaves

ovate-lanceolate; usually more than 2 mm; straight; weakly undulate and slightly recurved when dry, margins entire;

hyaline cells on convex surface with numerous small free pores in proximal 2/3 of leaf and in apical region with numerous pseudopores along commissures, on concave surface with numerous round free pores;

cells relatively long and narrow in basal region, much longer than in mid region; chlorophyllous cells triangular in transverse section and well-enclosed on concave surface.

ovate to ovate elliptical, 1.5–2 × 0.9–1.6 mm;

hyaline cells on convex surface with elliptic to more often round pores along the commissures, comb-lamellae can be present, but often absent or restricted to leaf bases; chlorophyllous cells broadly triangular in transverse section and well-enclosed on the convex surface;

end wall not thickened.

Sexual condition

dioicous.

dioicous.

Capsule

with scattered pseudostomata.

Spores

29–33 µm;

both surfaces very smooth;

proximal laesura long, more than 0.6 spore radius.

27–31 µm; granulate on both surfaces;

laesura on proximal surface less than 0.5 the spore radius.

Branch

fascicles with 2 spreading and 1–2 pendent branches.;

branch stems green, cortex enlarged with conspicuous retort cells.

fascicles with 2 spreading and 2–3 pendent branches.;

branch stems with cortical cell comb-lamellae weakly differentiated on interior wall, no or weak funnel-like projections on the interior end walls, pores in superficial wall mostly restricted to leaf attachments.

Sphagnum jensenii

Sphagnum affine

Phenology Capsules fairly common, mature early to late summer.
Habitat Predominantly in wet carpets in poor to medium fen habitats, mostly in mire-wide vegetation Widespread and often ruderal, wide variety of minerotrophic wetlands, especially abundant in forested mires
Elevation low to moderate elevations low to moderate elevations
Distribution
from FNA
AK; AB; BC; NF; NT; ON; QC; SK; YT; Eurasia
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IL; IN; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MO; MS; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; TN; TX; VA; VT; WV; NF; NS; PE; Europe
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Discussion

Sporophytes of Sphagnum jensenii are uncommon. For more information, see discussion under 23. S. annulatum.

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

Sphagnum affine may occur elsewhere but the taxonomy is unclear (K. I. Flatberg 1984). Although species of sect. Sphagnum are notoriously difficult to tell apart in the field, S. affine is typically smaller than S. centrale, S. palustre, and S. papillosum, the other brown species of this section with which it may occur. It is also much more likely to have somewhat squarrose branch leaves, especially in shade forms.

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

Source FNA vol. 27, p. 69. FNA vol. 27, p. 49.
Parent taxa Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Cuspidata Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Sphagnum
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. isoviitae, 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. 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. 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
Synonyms S. annulatum var. porosum S. imbricatum subsp. affine, S. imbricatum var. affine, S. imbricatum var. laeve
Name authority H. Lindberg: Acta Soc. Fauna Fl. Fenn. 18(3): 13. (1899) Renauld & Cardot: Rev. Bryol. 12: 44. (1885)
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