Sphagnum wulfianum |
Sphagnum affine |
|
---|---|---|
wulf's sphagnum |
imbricate bogmoss, sphagnum |
|
Habit | 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 to 1.3–1.9 × 0.6–1.2 mm; rarely hemiisophyllous; hyaline cells non-ornamented, nonseptate or sometimes septate. |
|
Branches | ± tapering, leaves loosely imbricate to spreading and often squarrose in shade forms. |
|
Branch leaves | with chlorophyllous cells often with faint papillae on interior walls. |
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. |
|
Capsule | with scattered pseudostomata. |
|
Spores | 27–31 µm; granulate on both surfaces; laesura on proximal surface less than 0.5 the spore radius. |
|
Branch | 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 wulfianum |
Sphagnum affine |
|
Phenology | Capsules fairly common, mature early to late summer. | |
Habitat | Coniferous forests, and occasionally in Alnus or Salix karrs | Widespread and often ruderal, wide variety of minerotrophic wetlands, especially abundant in forested mires |
Elevation | low to moderate elevations | low to moderate elevations |
Distribution |
CT; IL; IN; MA; ME; MI; MN; NH; NY; OH; PA; RI; VT; WI; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; ON; QC; Greenland; Eurasia |
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
|
Discussion | The sporophytes of Sphagnum wulfianum are moderately common. This is the most dry-growing species in North America, typically growing in association with Sphagnum centrale, S. girgensohnii, S. russowii, and S. squarrosum. It is easily recognized as the only species that regularly has more than six branches per fascicle. The Lycopodium clavatum-like growth habit and conifer swamp habitat along with the strongly 5-ranked branch leaves make it even easier to recognize in the field. (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. 85. | FNA vol. 27, p. 49. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. imbricatum subsp. affine, S. imbricatum var. affine, S. imbricatum var. laeve | |
Name authority | Girgensohn: Arch. Naturk. Liv- Ehst- Kurlands, Ser. 2, Biol. Naturk. 2: 173. (1860) | Renauld & Cardot: Rev. Bryol. 12: 44. (1885) |
Web links |