Sphagnum warnstorfii |
Sphagnum majus |
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Warnstorf's peat-moss, Warnstorf's sphagnum |
olive peat-moss, 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 to robust, fairly weak-stemmed, lax in submersed forms, ± sprawling in emergent froms; golden brown to dark brown; capitulum weakly 5-radiate, branches straight to strongly laterally curved. | ||||
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 triangular-lingulate, 0.8–1.4 mm, spreading to appressed; apex acute to narrowly obtuse, hyaline cells nonseptate and fibrillose near apex. |
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Branches | long and tapering, usually strongly 5-ranked. |
unranked or weakly 5-ranked, straight to strongly curved, leaves moderately elongated at distal end. |
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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-lanceolate to narrowly ovate-lanceolate, 1.8–3.4 mm; straight to strongly subsecund; weakly undulate and recurved when dry; margins entire; hyaline cells on convex surface with 1–2 free pores per fibril interval, concave surface aporose or rarely with a few wall thinnings in cell ends and angles; chlorophyllous cells trapezoidal in transverse section and narrowly exposed on concave surface. |
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Sexual condition | dioicous. |
dioicous. |
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Spores | 17–26 µm, finely papillose on both surfaces; proximal laesura less than 0.5 spore radius. |
33–40 µm. |
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Branch | fascicles with 2 spreading and 1–2 pendent branches. |
fascicles with 2 spreading and 1–2 pendent branches.; branch stems green but sometimes reddish at proximal end, with cortex enlarged with conspicuous retort cells. |
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Sphagnum warnstorfii |
Sphagnum majus |
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Phenology | Capsules mature late summer to early autumn. | |||||
Habitat | Minerotropic, hygrophytic, frequent in medium to rich fens | |||||
Elevation | 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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North America; Eurasia |
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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.) |
Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 27, p. 101. | FNA vol. 27, p. 70. | ||||
Parent taxa | Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Acutifolia | Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Cuspidata | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | S. warnstorfianum | S. cuspidatum var. majus | ||||
Name authority | Russow: Sitzungs.-Ber. Naturf.-Ges. Univ. Dorpat 8: 315. (1888) | (Russow) C. E.O. Jensen: in Botaniske Forening København, Festskrift, 106. (1890) | ||||
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