Sphagnum lindbergii |
Sphagnum alaskense |
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brown-stem peat-moss, Lindberg's sphagnum |
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Habit | Plants moderate-sized to large, moderately densely branched; green to brown, often bluish tinged and/or shiny when dry; capitulum flattopped with a conspicuous terminal bud. | Plants moderate-sized to robust, ± weak-stemmed and compact, capitulum conspicuously large and flat-topped; pinkish brown to red-brown; compact low hummocks and hummock sides. |
Stem(s) | leaves lingulate-spatulate, large, 1.3–1.6 mm; appressed to stem; apex very broad and lacerate; hyaline cells efibrillose and aporose, often septate. |
leaves to 1.7 × 1.2 mm; rarely hemiisophyllous; hyaline cells nonseptate to occasionally septate, comb-lamellae absent. |
Branches | strongly 5-ranked and straight. |
long and tapering. |
Branch leaves | ovate-lanceolate, 1.5–3 mm; straight to slightly subsecund; imbricate to somewhat reflexed and not undulate; margins entire; hyaline cells long and narrow, length to width ca. 10:1 on convex surface with 1 or more small pores in the cell ends and angles and often with numerous pseudopores along the margins, on concave surface with large round wall thinnings on the cell ends and angles; chlorophyllous cells triangular to trapezoidal in transverse section, apex often exposed on concave surface. |
broadly ovate, to 3 × 2.3 mm; hyaline cells on proximal half of convex surface with elliptical pores along the commissures, often with ridges running parallel to long leaf axis on hyaline cell surface overlying chlorophyllous cells; chlorophyllous cells elliptical and just enclosed on both surfaces in transverse section; end walls not thickened. |
Sexual condition | monoicous or dioicous. |
dioicous. |
Capsule | not seen. |
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Spores | 22–34 µm; both surfaces smooth, apparent ridged border on proximal surface; proximal laesura more than 0.5 spore radius. |
unknown. |
Branch | fascicles with 2 spreading and 2 pendent branches, leaves not much elongated at distal end.; branch stems green, with cortex enlarged with 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 large round pores on the superficial wall. |
Sphagnum lindbergii |
Sphagnum alaskense |
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Habitat | Widespread forming carpets in ombrotrophic to weakly minerotrophic boreal mires | Poor to medium fens and mineral edges of ombrotrophic mires |
Elevation | low to high elevations | low to moderate elevations |
Distribution |
AK; CO; NH; NY; WA; AB; BC; MB; NF; NS; NT; NU; ON; QC; YT; Greenland; Eurasia |
AK; WA; BC |
Discussion | Sporophytes are uncommon. Sphagnum lindbergii is normally easily distinguished from other carpet-forming species of sect. Cuspidata by its large, strongly lacerate stem leaf and dark brown to black stem. Sexual condition is taken from from L. I. Savicz-Lubitzkaya and Z. N. Smirnova (1968). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Sphagnum alaskense most resembles S. magellanicum and S. centrale in its chorophyll cell cross section. The cross section characteristic is most similar to that of S. centrale but S. alaskense lacks thickened walls. Sphagnum alaskense also apparently does not have any range overlap with S. centrale, the latter being more of a boreal forest species. Sphagnum alaskense occurs in more open and less mineral rich sites near the coast. Sphagnum magellanicum has more well-enclosed chlorophyll cells and usually has some purplish coloration, whereas S. alaskense often has a quite distinctive pinkish brown color which, along with its often large flattened capitula, can give it a distinctive look in the field. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 27, p. 70. | FNA vol. 27, p. 50. |
Parent taxa | Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Cuspidata | Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Sphagnum |
Sibling taxa | ||
Name authority | Schimper: Öfvers. Kongl. Vetensk.-Akad. Förh. 14: 126. (1857) | R. E. Andrus & Janssens: Bryologist 106: 435, figs. 1, 3. (2003) |
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