Sphagnum rubellum |
Sphagnum inundatum |
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sphagnum |
lesser cow-horn bog-moss, lesser cow-horn peat moss, water sphagnum |
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Habit | Plants small to moderate-sized, slender, fairly stiff but soft, capitulum flat-topped and stellate; deep maroon-red to variegated red and yellowish green, lacking metallic sheen when dry. | Plants moderate-sized, green in the shade to variegated yellow or orange or both in open habitats; capitulum typically rounded. |
Stem(s) | leaves lingulate-triangular to lingulate, 1–1.4 mm, apex broadly rounded but becoming acute in hemiisophyllous forms, border strongly developed at base (more than 0.25 width); hyaline cells rhombic and 0–3-septate with some cells in leaf midregion 2–septate. |
leaves lingulate to triangular-lingulate, 0.9–1.2 mm, apex rounded, usually 1/3–1/2 of leaf fibrillose; hyaline cells usually fibrillose in distal 1/3–1/2 of leaf, on convex surface near apex with 1–3 pores per cell, on concave surface near apex 1–4 pores per cell. |
Branches | weakly to strongly 5-ranked. |
arched but rarely curved and contorted. |
Branch leaves | ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 0.9–1.2 mm, concave, subsecund on some branches, apex involute; hyaline cells on convex surface with numerous round to elliptic pores along the commissures, grading from small round pores near apex to round pores near base, on concave surface with large round pores in proximal portions of leaf. |
ovate, 1–1.5 mm, straight to slightly subsecund; hyaline cells of convex surface with numerous ringed pores along the commissures (12–22 per cell), 0–3 pores per cell on the concave surface. |
Sexual condition | dioicous. |
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Capsule | with few pseudostomata. |
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Spores | 18–33 µm, coarsely papillose on both surfaces; proximal laesura less than 0.4 spore radius. |
30–37 µm; finely papillose on both surfaces, indistinct raised Y-shaped sculpture on distal surface; proximal laesura 0.5 spore radius or less. |
Branch | fascicles with 2 spreading and 1–2 pendent branches. |
fascicles with 2–3 spreading and 2–3 pendent branches. |
Sphagnum rubellum |
Sphagnum inundatum |
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Phenology | Capsules mature mid summer. | |
Habitat | Poor fens and ombrotrophic mires, forming extensive carpets and hummocks | Weakly minerotrophic habitats such as the margins of ponds, marshes, and mires, in addition to seeps and dripping cliff faces |
Elevation | low to high elevations | low to moderate elevations |
Distribution |
AK; CT; IL; IN; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; VT; WA; WI; BC; NB; NF; NS; NT; ON; PE; QC; YT; Greenland; Eurasia
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AK; CT; DE; KY; MA; ME; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; RI; SC; VA; VT; WV; BC; NB; NF; NS; QC; Eurasia |
Discussion | Sporophytes are uncommon in Sphagnum rubellum. This common species is associated with S. angustifolium, S. capillifolium, S. fallax, S. fuscum, S. magellanicum, S. papillosum, S. recurvum, and S. tenellum. Inland, it has a greater tendency to form extensive carpets and floating mats than hummocks. See also discussion under 65. S. andersonianum, 68. S. bartlettianum, and 86. S. talbotianum. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
The sporophytes of Sphagnum inundatum are uncommon. The ovate, concave branch leaves that are occasionally subsecund give this species an appearance similar to that of S. subsecundum, from which it can usually be distinguished by its larger size. Sphagnum lescurii typically has distinctly larger stem leaves and capitulum branches that can be quite turgid and curved in open-grown forms. The names Sphagnum bavaricum Warnstorf and S. bushii Warnstorf & Cardot have been applied to this taxon. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 27, p. 96. | FNA vol. 27, p. 81. |
Parent taxa | Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Acutifolia | Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Subsecunda |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. acutifolium var. tenellum, S. capillaceum var. tenellum, S. capillifolium var. tenellum | S. auriculatum var. inundatum, S. novo-foundlandicum, S. subsecundum var. inundatum |
Name authority | Wilson: Bryol. Brit., 19. (1855) | Russow: Arch. Naturk. Liv- Ehst- Kurlands, Ser. 2, Biol. Naturk. 10: 390. (1894) |
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