Sphagnum tenellum |
Sphagnum viride |
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soft peat-moss, sphagnum |
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Habit | Plants small, slender and weak-stemmed; pale yellow to golden brown, rarely tinged with red; capitulum not especially distinct. | Plants slender and weak-stemmed, moderate-sized, flaccid and plumose when submerged and stiffer and more compact when emergent; green to yellow, usually not tinged with brown or red; capitulum well defined, flat in submersed forms and more rounded in emergent forms. |
Stem(s) | leaves ovate-lingulate; 1–1.3 mm, apex broadly rounded; hyaline cells nonseptate, aporose and fibrillose in at least distal half of leaf. |
leaves long triangular-ovate, 1–2 mm; usually appressed; apex acute to apiculate, hyaline cells only rarely septate or aporose but often fibrillose in apical region. |
Branches | 2–3 spreading and 2 pendent leaves not much elongated at distal end. |
unranked, straight to slightly curved, leaves somewhat elongated at distal end. |
Branch leaves | ovate, 1–1.5 mm; straight; not or weakly undulate or recurved when dry; margins entire; hyaline cells short and wide, convex surface with 1–3 small pores per cell and on concave surface with large round wall thinnings in the cell angles; chlorophyllous cells equilateral-triangular in transverse section, broadly exposed on convex surface and just reaching to well-enclosed on concave surface. |
1.5–2.7 mm, ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate; straight to falcate toward branch tips; when dry often undulate and lightly recurved, margins entire to rarely weakly toothed along the margins in flaccid aquatic forms, hyaline cells on convex surface with 0–1 small round pores at apex, on concave surface with faint round wall thinnings in cell apices and angles; chlorophyllous cells triangular to trapezoidal in transverse section, broadly exposed on the convex surface and exposed slightly to broadly on the concave surface. |
Sexual condition | monoicous. |
dioicous. |
Spores | 27–42 µm; both surfaces smooth, proximal surface with distinct bifurcated Y-mark sculpture surrounded by distinct circular border, distal surface with distinct raised border around margins; proximal laesura usually less than 0.4 spore radius. |
30–43 µm; the superficial surface coarsely papillose to papillose reticulate. |
Branch | stems green; cortex enlarged, with conspicuously long-necked retort cells. |
fascicles with 2 spreading and 2–3 pendent branches.; branch stems green, cortex enlarged with conspicuous retort cells. |
Sphagnum tenellum |
Sphagnum viride |
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Phenology | Capsules mature early to mid summer. | |
Habitat | Wet depressions in a variety of ombrotropic and weakly minerotrophic habitats | Widespread, forming wet carpets in weakly minerotrophic mires |
Elevation | low to high elevations | low to moderate elevations |
Distribution |
AK; ME; NC; NJ; NY; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; Greenland; Eurasia |
AL; CT; DE; FL; IN; MA; ME; MI; MN; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; SC; TN; VA; VT; NF; NS; Europe |
Discussion | Sporophytes are common in Sphagnum tenellum. The delicate appearance created by the ovate and concave branch leaves as well as the large concave stem leaves make this a usually unmistakeable species. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
The sporophytes of Sphagnum viride are uncommon. See discussion under 27. S. cuspidatum for taxonomic distinctions. Spore characters are taken from Flatberg’s description. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 27, p. 76. | FNA vol. 27, p. 77. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. cymbifolium var. tenellum, S. molluscum | |
Name authority | (Bridel) Bory: Voy. Îles Afrique. 3: 107. (1804) | Flatberg: Kongel. Norske Vidensk. Selsk. Skr. (Trondheim) 1: 9, figs. (1988) |
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