Sphagnum portoricense |
Sphagnum fallax |
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puerto rico sphagnum |
flat-top bogmoss, sphagnum |
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Habit | Plants moderate-sized to often quite robust, ± weak-stemmed, lax; green, bluish green, green and brown to dark golden brown, often speckled in appearance; found submerged in shallow water, stranded along shore lines in loose carpets. | Plants moderate-sized, fairly stiff-stemmed; green, brownish green, pale yellow, golden yellow, yellow and brown; capitulum hemispherical and not 5-radiate to somewhat 5-radiate in shade-grown or wet-grown forms. |
Stem(s) | leaves 1.1 × 1 mm; rarely hemiisophyllous; hyaline cells non-ornamented, frequently septate. |
leaves triangular to lingulate-triangular, 0.8–1.2 mm, mostly appressed to the stem, apex acute to apiculate, hyaline cells mostly efibrillose and nonseptate. |
Branches | clavate and rounded at distal end. |
straight, mostly unranked, but can be 5-ranked in wet-growing forms, leaves little elongated at distal branch ends. |
Branch leaves | broadly ovate, 2.4 × 1.7 mm; hyaline cells on convex surface with numerous round pores along the commissures, comb-lamellae on hyaline cell walls where overlying chlorophyllous cells; chlorophyllous cells broadly triangular in transverse section and well-enclosed on the convex surface. |
ovate-lanceolate, greater than 1.2 mm, straight, undulate and sharply recurved when dry, margins entire; hyaline cells on convex surface with usually 1 round pore per cell at apical end, on concave side with round wall thinnings in the cell ends and angles; chlorophyllous cells triangular and just reaching or slightly enclosed within the concave surface. |
Sexual condition | dioicous. |
dioicous. |
Capsule | with pseudostomata. |
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Spores | 22–29 µm; finely papillose on both surfaces; indistinct triradiate ridge on distal surface; proximal laesura 0.5–0.6 spore radius. |
25–31 µm; proximal surface finely papillose, distal surface pusticulate with bifurcated Y-mark sculpture; proximal laesura less than 0.5 spore radius. |
Branch | fascicles with 2 spreading and 2 pendent branches.; branch stems with hyaline cell comb-lamellae visible on interior cortex wall, cortical cell end walls with conspicuous funnel projections more than 1/2 length of cell, superficial cortical wall aporose. |
fascicles with 2 spreading and 2–3 pendent branches.; branch stems green but proximal end sometimes red, with cortex enlarged with conspicuous retort cells. |
Sphagnum portoricense |
Sphagnum fallax |
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Habitat | Stream channels, shallow ponds, coniferous and hardwood swamps and pocosins | Widespread in poor fen habitats, often as a pioneer species in extensive mats, occasionally in ombrotrophic mires at hummock bases |
Elevation | low to moderate elevations | low to moderate elevations |
Distribution |
AL; FL; LA; NC; NJ; NY; SC; TX; Mexico; South America; West Indies |
CT; DE; IL; IN; MA; ME; MI; MN; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; TN; VA; VT; WV; NB; NF; NS; ON; PE; QC; Europe
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Discussion | Sphagnum portoricense is normally very easily distinguished because of its wet growing habit and strongly clavate branches. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Sphagnum fallax can be distinguished from the closely related S. isoviitae by its sharply recurved branch leaves, as opposed to the leaves of the latter only slightly reflexed at their tips. See also discussion under 26. S. brevifolium and 46. S. splendens. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 27, p. 54. | FNA vol. 27, p. 67. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. sullivantianum | S. cuspidatum var. fallax, S. apiculatum, S. flexuosum var. fallax, S. mucronatum, S. recurvum var. brevifolium, S. recurvum var. fallax, S. recurvum subsp. mucronatum |
Name authority | Hampe: Linnaea 25: 359. (1852) | (H. Klinggräff) H. Klinggräff: Vers. Topogr. Fl. Westpreuss., 128. (1880) |
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