Sphagnum macrophyllum |
Sphagnum tenellum |
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largeleaf sphagnum |
soft peat-moss, sphagnum |
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Habit | Plants brown, dark brown to nearly black. | Plants small, slender and weak-stemmed; pale yellow to golden brown, rarely tinged with red; capitulum not especially distinct. |
Stem(s) | leaves ovate-lingulate; 1–1.3 mm, apex broadly rounded; hyaline cells nonseptate, aporose and fibrillose in at least distal half of leaf. |
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Branches | 2–3 spreading and 2 pendent leaves not much elongated at distal end. |
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Branch leaves | lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, apex narrow and tubular, hyaline cells with 8–12 moderate-sized (more than 0.25 cell diameter) in mostly one row. |
ovate, 1–1.5 mm; straight; not or weakly undulate or recurved when dry; margins entire; hyaline cells short and wide, convex surface with 1–3 small pores per cell and on concave surface with large round wall thinnings in the cell angles; chlorophyllous cells equilateral-triangular in transverse section, broadly exposed on convex surface and just reaching to well-enclosed on concave surface. |
Sexual condition | monoicous. |
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Spores | 27–42 µm; both surfaces smooth, proximal surface with distinct bifurcated Y-mark sculpture surrounded by distinct circular border, distal surface with distinct raised border around margins; proximal laesura usually less than 0.4 spore radius. |
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Branch | stems green; cortex enlarged, with conspicuously long-necked retort cells. |
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Sphagnum macrophyllum |
Sphagnum tenellum |
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Phenology | Capsules mature early to mid summer. | |
Habitat | Floating or stranded at margins of shallow lakes and ponds, rarely in seeps where probably constantly wet | Wet depressions in a variety of ombrotropic and weakly minerotrophic habitats |
Elevation | low to moderate elevations | low to high elevations |
Distribution |
AL; AR; DE; FL; GA; LA; MD; MS; NC; NJ; NY; SC; TN; TX; VA; NF; NS
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AK; ME; NC; NJ; NY; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; Greenland; Eurasia |
Discussion | Sporophytes are common in Sphagnum tenellum. The delicate appearance created by the ovate and concave branch leaves as well as the large concave stem leaves make this a usually unmistakeable species. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 27, p. 61. | FNA vol. 27, p. 76. |
Parent taxa | Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Isocladus | Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Cuspidata |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Isocladus macrophyllus, S. macrophyllum var. burinense | S. cymbifolium var. tenellum, S. molluscum |
Name authority | Bridel: Bryol. Univ. 1: 10. (1826) | (Bridel) Bory: Voy. Îles Afrique. 3: 107. (1804) |
Web links |