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Sphagnum austinii - Royal Botanic Garden...

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20 cm 1 cm 276 Sphagnum austinii S. imbricatum subsp. austinii Austin’s Bog-moss Section Sphagnum Identification Similar species Habitat Photos David Holyoak (left) & Gordon Rothero (right) Text Andy Amphlett & Sandy Payne Sphagnales Forms firm, ochre-brown to chestnut hummocks to more than 50 cm tall. Branches are short, often curved, maggot-shaped, tapering to points, with leaves tightly appressed and overlapping. Capitula usually have a greenish centre. The hummocks and individual shoots are so compact that individual branch fascicles are often impossible to distinguish in the field, and the hummocks feel hard when pressed. Capsules are very rare. S. austinii is a very distinctive species, which can normally be identified with confidence in the field. Very compact, highly coloured forms of S. papillosum (p. 278), which are occasionally encountered in exposed situations, look rather similar and can only safely be distinguished using microscopic characters. S. fuscum (p. 290; Section Acutifolia) is the only other Sphagnum species that can form large, brownish hummocks in the same habitat. However, it is ginger-brown (sometimes partly green), has a smoother hummock surface, and has finely pointed leaves on much narrower branches. This is a moss of undisturbed raised and blanket bogs.
Transcript

20 cm 1 cm

276

Sphagnum austiniiS. imbricatum subsp. austinii

Austin’s Bog-moss Section Sphagnum

Identification

Similar species

Habitat

Photos David Holyoak (left) & Gordon Rothero (right) Text Andy Amphlett & Sandy Payne

Sphagnales

Forms firm, ochre-brown to chestnut hummocks to more than 50 cm tall. Branches are short, often curved, maggot-shaped, tapering to points, with leaves tightly appressed and overlapping. Capitula usually have a greenish centre. The hummocks and individual shoots are so compact that individual branch fascicles are often impossible to distinguish in the field, and the hummocks feel hard when pressed. Capsules are very rare.

S. austinii is a very distinctive species, which can normally be identified with confidence in the field. Very compact, highly coloured forms of S. papillosum (p. 278), which are occasionally encountered in exposed situations, look rather similar and can only safely be distinguished using microscopic characters. S. fuscum (p. 290; Section Acutifolia) is the only other Sphagnum species that can form large, brownish hummocks in the same habitat. However, it is ginger-brown (sometimes partly green), has a smoother hummock surface, and has finely pointed leaves on much narrower branches.

This is a moss of undisturbed raised and blanket bogs.

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