Sphagnum majus
Sphagnum subtile
olive peat-moss, sphagnum
sphagnum
leaves triangular-lingulate, 0.8–1.4 mm, spreading to appressed;
apex acute to narrowly obtuse, hyaline cells nonseptate and fibrillose near apex.
leaves broad-triangular to triangular lingulate, 0.9–1.2 mm, apex acute to slightly rounded, border strongly broadened at base (more than 0.3 width);
hyaline cells mostly 0–1-septate, S-shaped to rhomboid.
unranked or weakly 5-ranked, straight to strongly curved, leaves moderately elongated at distal end.
not 5-ranked.
ovate-lanceolate to narrowly ovate-lanceolate, 1.8–3.4 mm; straight to strongly subsecund; weakly undulate and recurved when dry;
margins entire;
hyaline cells on convex surface with 1–2 free pores per fibril interval, concave surface aporose or rarely with a few wall thinnings in cell ends and angles; chlorophyllous cells trapezoidal in transverse section and narrowly exposed on concave surface.
0.9–1.2 mm, ovate-lanceolate, 0.9–1.2 mm, concave, straight, apex involute;
hyaline cells on convex surface with numerous round to elliptic pores along the commissures (4–8), grading from small pores near apex to large pores at leaf base, concave surface with large round pores in proximal portions of leaf.
dioicous.
dioicous.
33–40 µm.
19–29 µm, finely papillose on proximal surface, more coarsely papillose on distal surface, conspicuous bifurcated Y-mark sculpture on distal surface;
proximal laesura less than 0.5 spore radius.
fascicles with 2 spreading and 1–2 pendent branches.;
branch stems green but sometimes reddish at proximal end, with cortex enlarged with conspicuous retort cells.
fascicles with 2 spreading and 2 pendent branches (rarely 1).
Sphagnum majus
Sphagnum subtile
Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Sphagnum subtile forms small dense cushions and hummocks in damp coniferous forests and in the shaded portions of poor fens and ombrotrophic mires.
Sporophytes are common in Sphagnum subtile. Reports that the species is monoicous may be unreliable because of confusion with closely related species (C. B. McQueen 1989). Previous reports of this species from the west coast of North America are uncertain as well as are specimens from the interior of the continent (R. E. Andrus 1979) due to taxonomic confusion with Sphagnum capillifolium and S. rubellum (McQueen). However, this species is conspicuously distinct in gametophyte and spore morphology as well as niche. In the northern part of its range where it overlaps ecologically with S. quinquefarium, the three spreading branches of the latter will distinguish it from S. subtile. It should be noted that contrary to the opinion of H. A. Crum (1997), S. subtile does not occur throughout the range of S. capillifolium but in North America is found over only a portion of the latter’s eastern range, while being absent completely from its western range. See also discussion under 71. S. capillifolium.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Branch leaf hyaline cells on convex leaf surface with 1-2 pores per fibril interval, these usually less than 1/3 the cell diameter. | subsp. majus |
1. Branch leaf hyaline cells on convex leaf surface with 1 pore per fibril interval, these more than 1/3 the cell diameter. | subsp. norvegicum |
BC
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
IL Wildflowers
MD Biodiversity
MI Flora
MN Wildflowers
