Sphagnum magellanicum |
Sphagnum affine |
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Magellan's sphagnum, magellanic peat-moss |
imbricate bogmoss, sphagnum |
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Habit | Plants moderate-sized to robust, somewhat lax in shade forms to quite compact and stiff in open grown forms; green to pinkish green to reddish purple; forms lawns in shaded habitats and low to moderately tall, dense hummocks in open habitats. | 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 to 2 × 0.7 mm; rarely hemiisophyllous; hyaline cells non-ornamented, mostly nonseptate. |
leaves to 1.3–1.9 × 0.6–1.2 mm; rarely hemiisophyllous; hyaline cells non-ornamented, nonseptate or sometimes septate. |
Branches | long and tapering to short and pointed, leaves loosely imbricate. |
± tapering, leaves loosely imbricate to spreading and often squarrose in shade forms. |
Branch leaves | broadly ovate, to 2 × 1 mm or more wide, broadly ovate, hyaline cells non-ornamented, convex surface with round to elliptic pores along the commissures; chlorophyllous cells short-elliptic in transverse section and well-enclosed on both surfaces. |
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 numerous pseudostomata. |
with scattered pseudostomata. |
Spores | 22–30 µm; roughly papillose to nearly smooth, with distinct Y-mark sculpture on distal surface; proximal laesura 0.5–0.8 spore radius. |
27–31 µm; granulate on both surfaces; laesura on proximal surface less than 0.5 the spore radius. |
Branch | fascicles with 2–3 spreading and 2–3 pendent branches.; branch stems with hyaline cells non-ornamented; no or weak funnel-like projections on the interior end walls, large round pores on superficial cell walls. |
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 magellanicum |
Sphagnum affine |
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Phenology | Capsules mature mid summer. | Capsules fairly common, mature early to late summer. |
Habitat | Ecological amplitude very wide, ombrotrophic to rich fen peatlands, forested and open mires | Widespread and often ruderal, wide variety of minerotrophic wetlands, especially abundant in forested mires |
Elevation | low to high elevations | low to moderate elevations |
Distribution |
AK; AL; AR; CA; CT; DE; FL; GA; ID; IL; IN; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OR; PA; SC; TN; TX; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; NT; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT; South America; Eurasia
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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 | As the only boreal species of the section with a reddish purple color, Sphagnum magellanicum is usually easy to identify. The branch leaf chlorophyll cells are capable of being confused only with those of S. alaskense, which are less enclosed on both surfaces, and S. centrale, which has thickened end walls on the chlorophyll cells that give them a narrow exposure on the concave surface. (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. 52. | FNA vol. 27, p. 49. |
Parent taxa | Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Sphagnum | Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Sphagnum |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. imbricatum subsp. affine, S. imbricatum var. affine, S. imbricatum var. laeve | |
Name authority | Bridel: Muscol. Recent. 2(1): 24. (1798) | Renauld & Cardot: Rev. Bryol. 12: 44. (1885) |
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