Sphagnum

Description

Plants - robust, weak-stemmed, and compact, capitulum hemi-spherical, branches in capitulum short and blunt; typically mottled pale yellow-green and purplish red, without metallic sheen when dry. Stems pale yellow-green to pink; superficial cortical cells nearly always aporose. Stem leaves 1.4-1.8 mm, elongate-triangular, lingulate-triangular, hemiisophyllous forms elongate triangular-ovate, 1.4-1.8 mm, apex usually conspicuously toothed, border narrow at base (less than 0.25 width); hyaline cells narrowly rhombic to S-shaped, can be efibrillose and aporose but more commonly fibrillose and porose, 0-1-septate. Branches turgid and terete, leaves, not 5-ranked. Branch fascicles with 2 spreading and 1-2 pendent branches. Branch leaves ovate, 1.1-1.7 mm, slightly concave, straight, apex weakly involute and conspicuously toothed; hyaline cells on the convex surface with round to elliptic pores along the commissures, grading from moderate-sized pores near apex to large pores at leaf base, concave surface with large round pores throughout. Sexual condition uncertain, monoicous or dioicous or possibly both. Spores 22-25 -m, finely roughened.Damp sand and thin humus especially around pond margins, open savannas, and pine barrens; low to moderate elevations; Ala., Del., D.C., Fla., Ga., Ky., Md., N.J., N.Y., N.C., Pa., R.I., S.C., Tenn., Va.