Flora of North America species comparison

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Sphagnum microcarpum
Habit Plants small; green to light green, capitulum indistinct.
Stem(s)

leaves isophyllous, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 2.2–2.8 mm;

apex rounded;

hyaline cells nonseptate, convex surface with 6–12 pores per cell along commissures, concave surface aporose.
Branches

straight and short.
Branch leaves

ovate, 1.3–1.7 mm;

hyaline cells on convex surface with 8–18 elliptic pores more than 8 µm, concave surface aporose.
Sexual condition

unknown.
Capsule

not seen.
Spores

not seen.
Branch

fascicles nearly all with 2 spreading branch only.

Sphagnum microcarpum
Habitat Ruderal sites such as dessication-prone depressions, ditches, tire tracks, and natural depressions among tussocks
Elevation low elevations
Distribution
from FNA
FL; LA; NC
Discussion

Sporophytes are rare in Sphagnum microcarpum, which grows over bare soil in a manner similar to that of S. cyclophyllum and S. fitzgeraldii. It is now recognized as separate from S. cyclophyllum, with which it has been treated as synonymous in the past. Besides the microscopic differences, S. microcarpum has a compact upright growth form quite unlike that of typical S. cyclophyllum. Sphagnum microcarpum is nearly always branched whereas S. cyclophyllum is nearly always simplex.

The name Sphagnum mobilense Warnstorf also has been applied to this taxon.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 27, p. 82.
Parent taxa Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Subsecunda
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. lindbergii, S. macrophyllum, S. magellanicum, S. majus, S. mcqueenii, S. mendocinum, 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
Synonyms S. microcarpum var. humile
Name authority Warnstorf: Hedwigia 47: 94. (1907)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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