Sphagnum sitchense |
Sphagnum pulchrum |
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sphagnum |
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Habit | Plants moderate-sized; capitulum flat-topped and dense; pale yellow and pink, lacking sheen. | Plants moderate-sized to robust, often quite dense and compact; green, brownish green, golden brown to dark brown; capitulum flat-topped and not especially 5-radiate. |
Stem(s) | pink, superficial cortical cells aporose.; stem leaves narrowly triangular to lingulate- triangular, 1.2–1.6 × 0.6–0.8 mm, length: width ratio ca. 2:1, apex apiculate, border strong and moderately broadened basally; hyaline cells narrowly rhomboid and 1 to occasionally 2 septate, often fibrillose apically. |
leaves triangular to triangular-lingulate, 0.9–1.1 mm; appressed to spreading; apex apiculate, acute or narrowly obtuse, appressed to spreading; hyaline cells nonseptate and efibrillose. |
Branches | not 5-ranked. |
straight to more typically curved, typically stout and blunt ended; strongly 5-ranked, leaves not much elongate at distal end. |
Branch leaves | 1.3–1.5 × 0.5–0.55 mm, ovate-lanceolate, concave, straight, apex involute; hyaline cells on convex surface with numerous round to elliptic pores along the commissures, grading from large elliptical pores at the base to moderate-sized round pores at the apex, concave surface with a few large round pores scattered throughout. |
ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 1.4–1.8 mm; straight to often subsecund; weakly undulate and slightly recurved; hyaline cells on convex surface with 1 pore per cell at apical end of cell, on concave surface with round wall thinnings in the cells ends and angles; chlorophyllous cells triangular to triangular-ovate in transverse section, very well-enclosed within concave surface. |
Sexual condition | unknown. |
dioicous. |
Spores | 25–28 µm; roughly papillous on both surfaces; proximal laesura more than 0.5 the length of the spore. |
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Branch | fascicles with 2 spreading and 1 pendent branch. |
fascicles with 2 spreading and 2 pendent branches.; branch stems green but often reddish at proximal end, with cortex enlarged with conspicuous retort cells. |
Sphagnum sitchense |
Sphagnum pulchrum |
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Habitat | Known only from type locality where it was forming low dense hummocks in alpine tundra | Abundant in poor fens and raised bogs, forming dense carpets at water level, especially on floating mats |
Elevation | moderate elevations | low to moderate elevations |
Distribution |
AK |
AK; CT; IN; MA; ME; MI; MN; NH; NJ; NY; WI; WV; MB; NB; NF; NS; ON; QC; Europe |
Discussion | Sporophytes are uncommon in Sphagnum pulchrum. With its distinctive broad and strongly 5-ranked branch leaves, It is one of our most easily recognized species. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 27, p. 98. | FNA vol. 27, p. 74. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. intermedium var. pulchrum | |
Name authority | R. E. Andrus: Sida 22: 969, figs. 27–34. (2006) | (Lindberg) Warnstorf: Bot. Centralbl. 82: 42. (1900) |
Web links |