The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

brown-stem peat-moss, Lindberg's sphagnum

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, 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 lingulate-spatulate, large, 1.3–1.6 mm; appressed to stem;

apex very broad and lacerate;

hyaline cells efibrillose and aporose, often septate.

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

strongly 5-ranked and straight.

long, tapering, imbricate, not 5-ranked.

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.

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

monoicous or dioicous.

monoicous.

Spores

22–34 µm;

both surfaces smooth, apparent ridged border on proximal surface;

proximal laesura more than 0.5 spore radius.

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 pendent branches, leaves not much elongated at distal end.;

branch stems green, with cortex enlarged with retort cells.

fascicles with 2 spreading and 1–2 pendent branches.

Sphagnum lindbergii

Sphagnum subfulvum

Phenology Capsules mature early summer.
Habitat Widespread forming carpets in ombrotrophic to weakly minerotrophic boreal mires Minerotrophic and hygrophytic, forming hummocks in shrubby and wooded medium and rich fens
Elevation low to high elevations low to moderate elevations
Distribution
from FNA
AK; CO; NH; NY; WA; AB; BC; MB; NF; NS; NT; NU; ON; QC; YT; Greenland; Eurasia
from FNA
AK; ME; MI; MN; NH; NJ; NY; VT; BC; NF; ON; QC; YT; Greenland; Eurasia
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.)

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. 70. 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. isoviitae, S. jensenii, S. junghuhnianum, S. kenaiense, S. lenense, S. lescurii, 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 Schimper: Öfvers. Kongl. Vetensk.-Akad. Förh. 14: 126. (1857) Sjörs: Svensk Bot. Tidskr. 38: 404. (1944)
Web links