Sphagnum annulatum

Sphagnum annulatum
Sphagnum annulatum photo by Kjell I. Flatberg

Description

Small to medium size

Capitulum shiny. Orange-brown.

Apical bud normally obvious, usually levelled or only slightly shorter than the inner branches, and almost always always visible.

Fascicles loosely arranged and typically displaying two divergent and 1–2 pendent branches that separate slightly from the main stem.

The divergent branches often curved downwards and are often pronouncedly thickest in middle part. Sometimes it will have very small leaves at the base of the divergent branches. Notice: Many sphagnum can display smaller leaves at the base of the divergent branches. The pendent branches are slender and shorter than the divergent branches. The stem leaves stick out from the stem.

As moisture increases, the shoots and heads become more robust; the outer branches and projecting parts tend to elongate and straighten. Capitulum of male plants distinctly domed heads with short, dark-brown antheridial branches.

On rare occasions, a completely green color variant may occur.

Acts as a reliable indicator of minerothrophic wetlands. Never found in nutrient poor bogs.

Habitat

Sphagnum annulatum is predominantly a mire spe-cies. But in subalpine and low alpine areas in Norway it is also sometimes found in spring and snow-bed vegetation on very shallow peat. In mires it is an exclusively minerotrophic species. It prefers sloping fens, but is sometimes also found in topogenous fens. Along the “poor-rich” vegetational gradient, it has a fairly narrow amplitude; it occurs mainly in intermediate fens, more occasionally in transitional poor fens and rarely in rich fens. High-level carpets and lawns are the typical habitats on the “hummock-mud-bottom” vegetational gradient. More occasionally it is found in wetter carpets, and rarely at low hummock level. The surrounding vegetation always has a clear mire margin character.

Bioklimatisk sone

Bioklimatisk seksjon

Macro Pics

Whole shoot

Side shoot

Multiple shoots

Branch fascicle

Stem leaves on stem

Micro Pics

Stem leaf

Stem leaf + branch leaf

Branch leaf

Branch leaf cross section

Stem cross section

Lookalikes

It is a parent species to S. jensenii together with S. balticum.

S. majus
Hoder tydeligere hvelvede enn hos pisktorvmose, mindre skinnende brun, mindre tydelig 5-delte, uten tydelig toppknopp, og med mer innover- og sidekrøkte greiner. Utstående greiner mer uregelmessig bøyde med mer utsperrede, mindre tett taklagte, smalere og mer sidebøyde blad. Mindre basekrevende med hovedutbredelse på kalkfattig myr. grenblad med porer som är mindre och som finns både på konvex- och konkavsidan och med klorofyllceller som i tvärsnitt är något mer exponerade samt stambark som är mer tydligt differentierad

S. jensenii
Easiest way to differentiate the two: The stem of Sphagnum annulatum (cross-section) has undifferentiated or poorly differentiated cortical cells, whereas the stems of S. majus and S. jensenii have clearly differentiated cortical cells.

Compared to S. jensenii, S. annulatum is less robust, smaller, more chestnut brown (less yellow-brown) and its branches are more curved; the capitulum is more often clearly star-shaped with a distinct apical bud.
S. jensenii has a a messier apperance and the convex side of the basal part of the branch leaf have hyaline cells that are longer compared to those in the middle part — note: S. annulatum also has larger pores in the basal part of the branch leaf, but not as large and as many large pores as S. jensenii.

Compared with S. jensenii, S. annulatum prefers somewhat richer, less wet and more distinctly soligenous mire sites with a clearer marginal character.

S. balticum
Hoder flatere enn hos pisktorvmose, rent brune/brungrønne, lite glinsende, med utydelig til skjult toppknopp, med tydelig innoverkrøkte kortgreiner, og mer rette yttergreiner med mer tydelig rekkestilte blad. Stengelblad kortere, buttere og mer konkave. Oftere med bare én hengegrein. Mindre basekrevende i ombrogen og kalkfattig myr, sjelden i intermediær myr, fraværende fra rikmyr. Sporemasse gul. växer ofta mer mineralfattigt/surt och är ofta klenare, inte så glänsande, har i genomsnitt lite kortare stamblad, färre porer (ofta 1–2(4) per cell istället för fler än 5) i hyalincellerna på konvexsidan i mitten av grenbladen och dessutom grenblad som oftast är arrangerade i fem tydliga rader.

Lookalikes majus(mam),annulatum(an) and jensenii(je)