Sphagnum subsecundum |
Sphagnum girgensohnii |
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cow-horn peat-moss, sphagnum |
common green peat-moss, Girgensohn's sphagnum |
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Habit | Plants small, slender, often wiry; green, yellow-brown or golden brown; capitulum small with terminal bud absent. | Plants moderate-sized to robust, open, very stiff and slender, less frequently compact, capitulum large, flat, and stellate; typically deep green in shaded sites to yellowish brown in more open sites; without metallic lustre when dry. |
Stem(s) | leaves triangular-lingulate, 0.8 mm or less; apex entire or weakly denticulate, hyaline cells sometimes septate, efibrillose and aporose except near apex. |
leaves lingulate, broadly lingulate to lingulate-spatulate; 0.8–1.3 mm, apex broad, truncate and lacerate, border broad at base (more than 0.25 of base); hyaline cells rhomboid, efibrillose, and rarely septate. |
Branches | often short and blunt. |
typically long and tapering, not 5-ranked. |
Branch leaves | ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 1–1.4(–1.8) mm, concave, straight, apex strongly involute, margins entire; hyaline cells on convex surface with numerous elliptic pores along the commissures, grading from small pores near the apex to large pores near the base, concave surface with large round pores along the margins and base. |
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Sexual condition | dioicous. |
dioicous. |
Capsule | exserted, with few pseudostomata. |
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Spores | 30–35 µm; finely papillose on both surfaces, distinct bifurcated Y-mark sculpture on distal surface; proximal laesurae more than 0.5 spore radius. |
21–27 µm, moderately to coarsely papillose on both surfaces; proximal laesura less than 0.5 spore radius. |
Branch | fascicles with 2–3 spreading and 2–3 pendent branches Branch leaves broadly ovate, subsecund, hyaline cells on convex surface with very numerous small pores (18–40 per cell) in a continuous row along the commissures, concave surface usually aporose. |
fascicles with 2 spreading and 1–2 pendent branches.; branch stem with solitary retort cells or in groups of 2–3, necks moderately distinct. |
Sphagnum subsecundum |
Sphagnum girgensohnii |
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Phenology | Capsules mature late summer. | |
Habitat | Minerotrophic, near the edges of open, poor fens, less commonly found in open medium fens | Shade tolerant, forming carpets on moist forest floors, along small streams, up through subalpine zone |
Elevation | low to high elevations | low to high elevations |
Distribution |
AK; CA; CO; CT; ID; IL; IN; MA; ME; MI; MN; MT; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; VT; WA; WI; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; NT; ON; QC; YT; Greenland; Eurasia
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AK; CA; CO; CT; ID; IL; IN; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; NC; ND; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; TN; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; NT; NU; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT; Greenland; Eurasia
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Discussion | Sporophytes are rare in Sphagnum subsecundum. This species is often associated with S. angustifolium, S. centrale, S. fimbriatum, S. flexuosum, S. palustre, and S. teres. The most widespread and common species of sect. Subsecunda, it exhibits considerable phenotypic plasticity in size. However, the stem leaves are always quite small in comparison to those of similar species. See also discussions under 52. S. contortum and 55. S. inexspectatum. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Sporophytes are uncommon in Sphagnum girgensohnii. This species is most frequently associated with S. russowii, but also found growing with S. centrale, S. fallax, S. fimbriatum, S. warnstorfii, and S. magellanicum when growing in shaded sites of mires. It is very similar to S. rubiginosum, but S. girgensohnii lacks any reddish pigments, has only 2 spreading branches per fascicle, infrequently produces sporophytes, and differs in spore morphology. Throughout much of its range, S. girgensohnii is readily recognized by its green color and its large, slender, strongly stellate capitulum. In the more northern portion of its range, it frequently forms compact stands with a golden brown color and then the stem leaf must often be examined for accurate identification. In Alaska it overlaps morphogically with S. fimbriatum subsp. concinnum, which can look very similar but will have a more spatulate stem leaf that is lacerate completely across the broad flat apex and slightly down the sides. Sphagnum girgensohnii, on the other hand, has stem leaves only lacerate for about 3/4 of the apex width and less conspicuously broadened at the apex. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 27, p. 84. | FNA vol. 27, p. 94. |
Parent taxa | Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Subsecunda | Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Acutifolia |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. crispum | S. mehneri |
Name authority | Nees: in J. Sturm et al., Deutschl. Fl. 2(17): species 3. (1819) | Russow: Beitr. Torfm., 46. (1865) |
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