Sphagnum warnstorfii |
Sphagnum affine |
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Warnstorf's peat-moss, Warnstorf's sphagnum |
imbricate bogmoss, sphagnum |
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Habit | Plants small or less frequently moderate-sized, slender, capitulum flat-topped and stellate; green or dark purplish red and green, rarely green throughout, often with a distinctive bluish cast when dry. | Plants moderate-sized and lax to somewhat compact, ± stiff-stemmed; moderate-sized to large, forming lawns or low, loose hummocks; green, yellow-brown to golden brown and often tinged with brown to purplish brown; capitulum ± flat in lax open-grown forms to ± rounded and compact in open-grown forms. |
Stem(s) | leaves triangular-lingulate to lingulate, 1.1–1.4 mm, apex broad-rounded to narrowly truncate, border very broad at base (more than 0.3 width); hyaline cells efibrillose, rhombic, mostly 1-septate but can be non-septate. |
leaves to 1.3–1.9 × 0.6–1.2 mm; rarely hemiisophyllous; hyaline cells non-ornamented, nonseptate or sometimes septate. |
Branches | long and tapering, usually strongly 5-ranked. |
± tapering, leaves loosely imbricate to spreading and often squarrose in shade forms. |
Branch leaves | ovate-lanceolate, 0.9–1.4 mm, concave, straight, apex involute; hyaline cells on convex surface with very small ringed pores (less than 0.25 cell width) along commissures near apex, changing abruptly to large elliptical pores (0.4 cell width or more) basally, concave surface with large round pores in proximal margins and leaf base. |
ovate to ovate elliptical, 1.5–2 × 0.9–1.6 mm; hyaline cells on convex surface with elliptic to more often round pores along the commissures, comb-lamellae can be present, but often absent or restricted to leaf bases; chlorophyllous cells broadly triangular in transverse section and well-enclosed on the convex surface; end wall not thickened. |
Sexual condition | dioicous. |
dioicous. |
Capsule | with scattered pseudostomata. |
|
Spores | 17–26 µm, finely papillose on both surfaces; proximal laesura less than 0.5 spore radius. |
27–31 µm; granulate on both surfaces; laesura on proximal surface less than 0.5 the spore radius. |
Branch | fascicles with 2 spreading and 1–2 pendent branches. |
fascicles with 2 spreading and 2–3 pendent branches.; branch stems with cortical cell comb-lamellae weakly differentiated on interior wall, no or weak funnel-like projections on the interior end walls, pores in superficial wall mostly restricted to leaf attachments. |
Sphagnum warnstorfii |
Sphagnum affine |
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Phenology | Capsules mature late summer to early autumn. | Capsules fairly common, mature early to late summer. |
Habitat | Minerotropic, hygrophytic, frequent in medium to rich fens | Widespread and often ruderal, wide variety of minerotrophic wetlands, especially abundant in forested mires |
Elevation | low to moderate elevations | low to moderate elevations |
Distribution |
AK; CO; CT; IA; ID; IN; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MT; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; RI; SD; UT; VT; WA; WI; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; NT; NU; ON; QC; SK; YT; Greenland; Eurasia
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AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IL; IN; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MO; MS; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; TN; TX; VA; VT; WV; NF; NS; PE; Europe
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Discussion | Sporophytes are uncommon in Sphagnum warnstorfii. This is one of the most minerotrophic species of the flora, is hygrophytic, and has a very broad niche. The most commonly associated vascular plants are Thuja occidentalis, Abies balsamea, and Picea rubens. Bryophytes typically associated with it are S. centrale, S. squarrosum, S. teres, Calliergonella cuspidata, and Campylium stellatum. This species is perhaps most similar to S. bartlettianum, with which it has small range overlap. Sphagnum warnstorfii has a shorter and less sharply pointed stem leaf and the red color with a characteristic bluish caste compared to the crimson red of S. bartlettianum. See also discussion under 81. S. russowii and 86. S. talbotianum. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Sphagnum affine may occur elsewhere but the taxonomy is unclear (K. I. Flatberg 1984). Although species of sect. Sphagnum are notoriously difficult to tell apart in the field, S. affine is typically smaller than S. centrale, S. palustre, and S. papillosum, the other brown species of this section with which it may occur. It is also much more likely to have somewhat squarrose branch leaves, especially in shade forms. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 27, p. 101. | FNA vol. 27, p. 49. |
Parent taxa | Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Acutifolia | Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Sphagnum |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. warnstorfianum | S. imbricatum subsp. affine, S. imbricatum var. affine, S. imbricatum var. laeve |
Name authority | Russow: Sitzungs.-Ber. Naturf.-Ges. Univ. Dorpat 8: 315. (1888) | Renauld & Cardot: Rev. Bryol. 12: 44. (1885) |
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