Sphagnum teres |
Sphagnum tenerum |
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rigid peat-moss, sphagnum |
sphagnum |
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Habit | Plants fairly slender to moderate-sized, pale green to yellowish, or reddish brown in sun-grown forms; forms loose to dense carpets. | Plants ± robust, weak-stemmed, and compact, capitulum hemispherical, branches in capitulum short and blunt; typically mottled pale yellow-green and purplish red, without metallic sheen when dry. |
Stem(s) | leaves generally larger than branch leaves, 1.3– 1.8 × 0.8–1 mm; elliptic to lingulate-spatulate, widest above middle, hyaline cells nonseptate. |
leaves 1.4–1.8 mm, elongate-triangular, lingulate-triangular, hemiisophyllous forms elongate triangular-ovate, 1.4–1.8 mm, apex usually conspicuously toothed, border narrow at base (less than 0.25 width); hyaline cells narrowly rhombic to S-shaped, can be efibrillose and aporose but more commonly fibrillose and porose, 0–1-septate. |
Branches | long-cylindrical, branch leaves terete to sometimes distinctly squarrose in shade forms. |
turgid and terete, leaves, not 5-ranked. |
Branch leaves | 1–1.4 mm, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, gradually narrowed to an involute tip, hyaline cells somewhat bulging on concave surface and nearly plane on convex surface, with 4–8 large, elliptic, unringed pores per cell on convex surface and 1–4 irregularly rounded pores per cell on concave surface, internal commissural walls smooth to rather strongly papillose, chlorophyllous cells ovate-triangular with the widest part at or close to the convex surface. |
ovate, 1.1–1.7 mm, slightly concave, straight, apex weakly involute and conspicuously toothed; hyaline cells on the convex surface with round to elliptic pores along the commissures, grading from moderate-sized pores near apex to large pores at leaf base, concave surface with large round pores throughout. |
Sexual condition | dioicous. |
uncertain, monoicous or dioicous or possibly both. |
Spores | 21–26 µm; proximal and distal surfaces smooth, papillae indistinct; proximal laesura 0.5–0.6 spore radius. |
22–25 µm, finely roughened. |
Branch | fascicles typically with 3 spreading (sometimes 2) and 2 pendent branches.; branch stems with single layer of cortical cells. |
fascicles with 2 spreading and 1–2 pendent branches. |
Sphagnum teres |
Sphagnum tenerum |
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Phenology | Sporophytes uncommon, capsules mature late spring to early summer. | |
Habitat | Strongly minerotrophic, in open to medium rich fens, less frequent in coniferous mires, characteristic species of rich, weakly acidic to slightly basic mires | Damp sand and thin humus especially around pond margins, open savannas, and pine barrens |
Elevation | low to high elevations | low to moderate elevations |
Distribution |
AK; CA; CO; CT; IA; ID; IL; IN; MA; ME; MI; MN; MT; ND; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OR; PA; VT; WA; WI; WY; AB; BC; MB; NF; NS; NT; NU; ON; QC; SK; YT; Greenland; Eurasia
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AL; DC; DE; FL; GA; KY; MD; NC; NJ; NY; PA; RI; SC; TN; VA |
Discussion | Shade forms of Sphagnum teres are often squarrose but these are usually considerably smaller than S. squarrosum. For other distinctions between these species, see discussion under the latter. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Sporophytes are uncommon in Spagnum tenerum. The sexual condition is uncertain because of past taxonomic confusion with S. capillifolium (R. E. Andrus 1980). Sphagnum tenerum is usually described (incorrectly) as having hemiisophyllous stem leaves, and many collections of other species of sect. Acutifolia with such leaves have been called S. tenerum. When correctly characterized, S. tenerum is can be confused only with S. capillifolium, with which it has only a very small range overlap. Microscopically, besides the otherwise quite different S. angermanicum, S. tenerum is the only species of sect. Acutifolia with large round free pores in most of the branch leaf hyaline cells on their concave surfaces. See also discussion under 71. S. capillifolium. Sexual condition and spore features were taken from H. A. Crum (1984). The name Sphagnum evansii Warnstorf has also been used for this taxon. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 27, p. 59. | FNA vol. 27, p. 100. |
Parent taxa | Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Squarrosa | Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Acutifolia |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. squarrosum var. teres, S. teres var. squarrosulum | S. capillaceum var. tenerum, S. capillifolium var. tenerum, S. tenerum var. virginicum |
Name authority | Ångström: in C. J. Hartman, Handb. Skand Fl. ed. 8, 417. (1861) | Sullivant: in A. Gray, Manual ed. 2, 611. (1856) |
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