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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; capitulum flat-topped and dense; pale yellow and pink, lacking sheen.
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.

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.

Branches

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

not 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.

1.3–1.5 × 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.

Sexual condition

dioicous.

unknown.

Spores

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

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 pendent branch.

Sphagnum viride

Sphagnum sitchense

Habitat Widespread, forming wet carpets in weakly minerotrophic mires Known only from type locality where it was forming low dense hummocks in alpine tundra
Elevation low to moderate elevations 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
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.)

Source FNA vol. 27, p. 77. FNA vol. 27, p. 98.
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. 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. 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: 969, figs. 27–34. (2006)
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