Sphagnum magellanicum |
Sphagnum mcqueenii |
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Magellan's sphagnum, magellanic peat-moss |
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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 robust and weak-stemmed; yellow to light brown; capitulum flat-topped and with ± conspicuous terminal bud. |
Stem(s) | leaves to 2 × 0.7 mm; rarely hemiisophyllous; hyaline cells non-ornamented, mostly nonseptate. |
leaves equilateral triangular, 0.8–1.1 mm; often spreading; apex more or less obtuse; leaves often spreading; hyaline cells usually septate and often fibrillose in proximal half of leaf. |
Branches | long and tapering to short and pointed, leaves loosely imbricate. |
unranked, ± straight, leaves moderately elongated at distal end. |
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-lanceolate, less than 2.2 mm, straight; undulate and sharply recurved when dry; margins entire; hyaline cells on convex surface with 0–1 apical pores and often with pseudopores, concave surface with to 12 round wall thinnings in cell angles and sometimes along commissures; chlorophyllous cells triangular in transverse section, just enclosed on the concave surface and broadly exposed on the convex surface. |
Sexual condition | dioicous. |
unknown. |
Capsule | with numerous pseudostomata. |
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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. |
not seen. |
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 1–2 pendent branches.; branch stems green, with cortex enlarged with conspicuous retort cells. |
Sphagnum magellanicum |
Sphagnum mcqueenii |
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Phenology | Capsules mature mid summer. | |
Habitat | Ecological amplitude very wide, ombrotrophic to rich fen peatlands, forested and open mires | Habitat poorly understood, but known from floating mats in poor fen habitats |
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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ME; NH; PA; VT; NF |
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.) |
Sporophytes of Sphagnum mcqueenii are unknown. Sphagnum torreyanum and S. atlanticum both have longer, narrower, and less sharply recurved branch leaves than does S. mcqueenii. Both S. cuspidatum and S. viride have acute stem leaves as compared to the obtuse stem leaves of this species. Sphagnum pulchrum has 5-ranked branch leaves and apiculate stem leaves, which contrast strongly with the unranked branch leaves and obtuse stem leaves of this species. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 27, p. 52. | FNA vol. 27, p. 72. |
Parent taxa | Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Sphagnum | Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Cuspidata |
Sibling taxa | ||
Name authority | Bridel: Muscol. Recent. 2(1): 24. (1798) | R. E. Andrus: Sida 22: 959, figs. 1–6. (2006) |
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