Sphagnum pylaesii |
Sphagnum imbricatum |
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Pylaes' sphagnum |
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Habit | Plants slender and delicate, aquatic or prostrate, with a conspicuous terminal bud; dark greenish to purplish brown in submerged plants to deep salmon-red in prostrate plants, capitulum quite indistinct but with distinct terminal bud. | Plants moderate-sized, weak-stemmed, lax; yellowish to golden brown; forming loose carpets; branches loosely imbricate. |
Stem(s) | leaves broadly ovate, 1.5–2(2.5) mm; straight; hyaline cells fibrillose and nearly aporose, with single small pores occasionally found in the distal cell ends on the concave surface. |
leaves short-rectangular, 0.8–1.1 mm, hyaline cells mostly non-septate and absent comb-fibrils. |
Branches | lacking or short and slender. |
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Branch leaves | when present similar to stem leaves but smaller, 0.8–1.2 mm, hyaline cells fibrillose and mostly aporose, 1–6 irregularly round-shaped membrane gaps in some cells near apex on convex surface. |
ovate to ovate-elliptic, 1.4–1.8 mm; hyaline cells on convex surface with numerous pores along the commissures; comb-lamellae obvious only in proximal 1/2 of leaf; chlorophyllous cells broadly triangular in transverse section and well-enclosed on the convex surface. |
Sexual condition | dioicous. |
dioecious. |
Capsule | usually immersed in perichaetiale leaves, but may be slightly emergent, pseudostomata absent from capsule surface. |
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Spores | 29–41 µm, coarsely papillose on both surfaces, indistinct raised sculpture on distal surface; proximal laesura less than 0.5 spore radius. |
(22) 24–27(–28) µm, surface granulate. |
Branch | fascicles none or 1 spreading branch. |
fascicles with 2 spreading and 1–2 hanging branches.; branch stems with hyaline cells non-ornamented, no or weak funnel-like projections on the end walls of cortical cells, cortical cell walls usually with large round pores. |
Sphagnum pylaesii |
Sphagnum imbricatum |
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Habitat | Weakly minerotrophic, wet rocks, poor fens | Ecology poorly known |
Elevation | low to high elevations | moderate elevations |
Distribution |
MA; ME; NC; NH; NJ; NF; NS; QC; Greenland; NY ; Europe
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AK |
Discussion | Sporophytes rare in Sphagnum pylaesii. This species is distributed as a pioneer on wet rocks associated with S. tenellum and S. papillosum, or in poor fens with S. pulchrum, S. majus, and S. papillosum. See also discussion under 53. S. cyclophyllum. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
K. I. Flatberg (1984) considered Sphagnum imbricatum to be East Asian in distribution but a recent collection in Selawik National Wildlife Refuge places it in the North American flora. It will undoubtedly be found elsewhere. Sphagnum imbricatum is closest in morphological detail to S. steerei, but the latter is a very dark colored and densely branched species whereas S. imbricatum is quite light in color and not particularly dense. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 27, p. 84. | FNA vol. 27, p. 52. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Hemitheca pylaiei, S. pylaesii var. austinii, S. pylaesii var. prostratum, S. pylaesii var. ramosum, S. sedoides, S. sedoides var. austinii, S. sedoides var. prostratum | |
Name authority | Bridel: Bryol. Univ. 1: 749. (1827) | Russow: Beitr. Torfm., 99. (1865) |
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