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Habit 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. Plants moderate-sized to robust, capitulum more or less flat-topped and large; dark brown overall with a golden center to the capitulum and a distinctive deep red tinge in the field which becomes a pinkish purple sheen upon drying.
Stem(s)

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.

leaves broadly triangular-lingulate, 1.15–1.25 × 0.8 mm, apex slightly to broadly obtuse, border moderately broadened at base;

hyaline cells mostly 1-septate with a few to many 2-septate in the mid region, shape rhomboid.

Branches

unranked, straight to slightly curved, leaves somewhat elongated at distal end.

more or less 5-ranked.

Branch leaves

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.

1.2–1.3 × 0.65–0.75 mm, broadly ovate, apex involute;

hyaline cells on convex surface with numerous round to elliptic pores along the commissures, these grading from small pores at the apex to large pores at the base;

concave surface aporose except for a few large pores in the lower side regions.

Sexual condition

dioicous.

dioicous.

Spores

30–43 µm; the superficial surface coarsely papillose to papillose reticulate.

26–30 µm.

Branch

fascicles with 2 spreading and 2–3 pendent branches.;

branch stems green, cortex enlarged with conspicuous retort cells.

fascicles with 2 spreading and 1 hanging branch.

Sphagnum viride

Sphagnum bergianum

Habitat Widespread, forming wet carpets in weakly minerotrophic mires Hummocks in fens
Elevation low to moderate elevations low to moderate elevations
Distribution
from FNA
AL; CT; DE; FL; IN; MA; ME; MI; MN; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; SC; TN; VA; VT; NF; NS; Europe
from FNA
AK; NF
Discussion

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.)

Sphagnum bergianum forms dense hummocks in medium to rich fen habitats and is associated with such species as Sphagnum warnstorfii, S. subfulvum, S. subsecundum, S. platyphyllum and S. fuscum.

Sphagnum bergianum is quite distinct in the field from its very dark brown color tinged with a deep red as well as its 5-ranked branch leaves. Sphagnum subnitens is colored a light brown and red combination, and has unranked branch leaves. Sphagnum subfulvum has a golden brown color that can be tinged with purple but also has unranked branch leaves. Sphagnum flavicomans is a similar-sized brown species of sect. Acutifolia that overlaps S. bergianum in Newfoundland but it is golden brown, lacks the red tinge and has a longer and narrower branch and stem leaves.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 27, p. 77. FNA vol. 27, p. 90.
Parent taxa Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Cuspidata Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Acutifolia
Sibling taxa
S. affine, S. alaskense, S. andersonianum, S. angermanicum, S. angustifolium, S. annulatum, S. aongstroemii, S. arcticum, S. atlanticum, S. austinii, S. balticum, S. bartlettianum, S. beothuk, S. bergianum, S. brevifolium, S. capillifolium, S. carolinianum, S. centrale, S. compactum, S. contortum, S. cribrosum, S. cuspidatum, S. cyclophyllum, S. fallax, S. fimbriatum, S. fitzgeraldii, S. flavicomans, S. flexuosum, S. fuscum, S. girgensohnii, S. henryense, S. imbricatum, S. inexspectatum, S. inundatum, S. isoviitae, S. jensenii, S. junghuhnianum, S. kenaiense, S. lenense, S. lescurii, S. lindbergii, S. macrophyllum, S. magellanicum, S. majus, S. mcqueenii, S. mendocinum, S. microcarpum, S. mirum, S. mississippiense, S. molle, S. obtusum, S. oregonense, S. orientale, S. pacificum, S. palustre, S. papillosum, S. perfoliatum, S. perichaetiale, S. platyphyllum, S. portoricense, S. pulchrum, S. pylaesii, S. quinquefarium, S. recurvum, S. riparium, S. rubellum, S. rubiginosum, S. rubroflexuosum, S. russowii, S. sitchense, S. splendens, S. squarrosum, S. steerei, S. strictum, S. subfulvum, S. subnitens, S. subsecundum, S. subtile, S. talbotianum, S. tenellum, S. tenerum, S. teres, S. torreyanum, S. trinitense, S. tundrae, S. warnstorfii, S. wilfii, S. wulfianum
S. affine, S. alaskense, S. andersonianum, S. angermanicum, S. angustifolium, S. annulatum, S. aongstroemii, S. arcticum, S. atlanticum, S. austinii, S. balticum, S. bartlettianum, S. beothuk, S. brevifolium, S. capillifolium, S. carolinianum, S. centrale, S. compactum, S. contortum, S. cribrosum, S. cuspidatum, S. cyclophyllum, S. fallax, S. fimbriatum, S. fitzgeraldii, S. flavicomans, S. flexuosum, S. fuscum, S. girgensohnii, S. henryense, S. imbricatum, S. inexspectatum, S. inundatum, S. isoviitae, S. jensenii, S. junghuhnianum, S. kenaiense, S. lenense, S. lescurii, S. lindbergii, S. macrophyllum, S. magellanicum, S. majus, S. mcqueenii, S. mendocinum, S. microcarpum, S. mirum, S. mississippiense, S. molle, S. obtusum, S. oregonense, S. orientale, S. pacificum, S. palustre, S. papillosum, S. perfoliatum, S. perichaetiale, S. platyphyllum, S. portoricense, S. pulchrum, S. pylaesii, S. quinquefarium, S. recurvum, S. riparium, S. rubellum, S. rubiginosum, S. rubroflexuosum, S. russowii, S. sitchense, S. splendens, S. squarrosum, S. steerei, S. strictum, S. subfulvum, S. subnitens, S. subsecundum, S. subtile, S. talbotianum, S. tenellum, S. tenerum, S. teres, S. torreyanum, S. trinitense, S. tundrae, S. viride, S. warnstorfii, S. wilfii, S. wulfianum
Name authority Flatberg: Kongel. Norske Vidensk. Selsk. Skr. (Trondheim) 1: 9, figs. (1988) R. E. Andrus: Sida 22: 964, figs. 14–20. (2006)
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