Table Of ContentAlphabetical list of Sphagnum species and legend
Sphagnum
S. affine. ........................................................40 S. mirum ..........................................................148
S. angermanicum .......................................174 S. molle ............................................................194
S. angustifolium............................................80 S. obtusum .......................................................102
S. annulatum ................................................82 S. olafii .............................................................196
S. aongstroemii...........................................176 S. orientale ......................................................130
S. arcticum ..................................................178 S. palustre..........................................................48
S. austinii ......................................................42 S. papillosum .....................................................50
S. balticum. ...................................................84 S. perfoliatum ..................................................132
S. capillifolium ............................................180 S. platyphyllum ................................................134
S. centrale .....................................................44 S. pulchrum .....................................................104
S. compactum ...............................................58 S. pylaesii. ........................................................136
S. concinnum ..............................................182 S. quinquefarium .............................................198
S. contortum ...............................................124 S. recurvum. .....................................................106
S. cuspidatum ...............................................86 S. riparium .......................................................108
S. divinum .....................................................46 S. rubellum ......................................................200
S. fallax .........................................................88 S. rubiginosum. ................................................202
S. fimbriatum ..............................................184 S. russowii ........................................................204
S. flavicomans ............................................186 S. squarrosum ..................................................150
S. flexuosum .................................................90 S. steerei ............................................................52
S. fuscum ....................................................188 S. strictum..........................................................60
S. girgensohnii ............................................190 S. subfulvum ....................................................206
S. incundum ................................................192 S. subsecundum ...............................................138
S. isoviitae ....................................................92 S. tenellum .......................................................110
S. jensenii......................................................94 S. tenerum .......................................................208
S. lenense......................................................96 S. teres .............................................................152
S. lescurii ....................................................126 S. torreyanum ..................................................112
S. lindbergii ..................................................98 S. tundrae ........................................................154
S. macrophyllum .........................................128 S. venustum .....................................................210
S. magellanicum (the complex) ....................46 S. warnstorfii ...................................................212
S. majus ......................................................100 S. wulfianum ....................................................214
S. medium .....................................................46
Legend of pictograms
Microscopic main traits Macroscopic field traits
Biotope Distribution
Habitat Differences between similar species
Sphagnum Mosses of Eastern Canada
Visual identification key
and distribution maps
Gilles Ayotte
Line Rochefort
Translated from French by Elisabeth Groeneveld
Sphagnum Mosses of Eastern Canada – Visual identification key and distribution maps
Gilles Ayotte and Line Rochefort
© 2021 Les Éditions JFD inc.
Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec and Library and Archives Canada cataloguing
in publication
Sphagnum Mosses of Eastern Canada – Visual identification key and distribution maps /
Gilles Ayotte, Line Rochefort.
Other title: Les sphaignes de l’Est du Canada – Clé d’identification visuelle et cartes de répartition.
English.
Identifiers: Canadiana 20200079247 | ISBN 9782897990930
Subjects: LCSH: Peat mosses – Canada, Eastern – Identification. |
LCSH: Peat mosses – Québec (Province) – Identification.
Classification: LCC QK539.S75 A9613 2020 | DDC 588/.10971–dc23
Éditions JFD inc.
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Email address: [email protected]
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Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or by any means whatsoever, is strictly prohibited without
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ISBN: 978-2-89799-093-0
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Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec
Library and Archives Canada
Printed in Quebec
Table of contents
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................7
Introduction ..................................................................................................................9
Classification of Sphagnum mosses in Quebec-Labrador and the Maritime provinces
(excluding the island of Newfoundland) ..........................................................................15
Tribute to Dr. Robert Gauthier. .......................................................................................19
Visual identification key 1: Field key to the subgenera and certain species ..........................21
Visual identification key 2: Microscopic and macroscopic traits of the subgenera
and certain species .......................................................................................................25
Subgenus 1: Sphagnum .................................................................................................31
Main traits .....................................................................................................................................32
Key to species ...............................................................................................................................34
1. Sphagnum affine Renauld & Cardot .......................................................................................40
2. Sphagnum austinii Sullivant ...................................................................................................42
3. Sphagnum centrale Arnell & C. E. O. Jensen ..........................................................................44
Sphagnum magellanicum (the complex) ...............................................................................46
4. Sphagnum divinum Flatberg & Hassel ..........................................................................46
5. Sphagnum medium Limprecht. .....................................................................................46
6. Sphagnum palustre Linnaeus .................................................................................................48
7. Sphagnum papillosum Lindberg ............................................................................................50
8. Sphagnum steerei R. E. Andrus ...............................................................................................52
Subgenus 2: Rigida .......................................................................................................55
Main traits .....................................................................................................................................56
Key to species ...............................................................................................................................56
9. Sphagnum compactum Lamarck & de Candolle ....................................................................58
10. Sphagnum strictum Sullivant ...............................................................................................60
Subgenus 3: Cuspidata ..................................................................................................63
Main traits .....................................................................................................................................64
Key to species ...............................................................................................................................65
11. Sphagnum angustifolium (Russow) C. E. O. Jensen .............................................................80
12. Sphagnum annulatum Warnstorf .........................................................................................82
13. Sphagnum balticum (Russow) C. E. O. Jensen .....................................................................84
14. Sphagnum cuspidatum Hoffman ..........................................................................................86
15. Sphagnum fallax (H. Klinggräff) H. Klinggräff ......................................................................88
16. Sphagnum flexuosum Dozy & Molkenboer ...........................................................................90
17. Sphagnum isoviitae Flatberg ................................................................................................92
18. Sphagnum jensenii H. Lindberg ............................................................................................94
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Sphagnum Mosses of Eastern Canada
19. Sphagnum lenense Pohle .....................................................................................................96
20. Sphagnum lindbergii Schimper ............................................................................................98
21. Sphagnum majus (Russow) C. E. O. Jensen ........................................................................100
22. Sphagnum obtusum Warnstorf ...........................................................................................102
23. Sphagnum pulchrum (Braithwaite) Warnstorf ....................................................................104
24. Sphagnum recurvum P. Beauvois (sensu stricto) ................................................................106
26. Sphagnum riparium Ångström ...........................................................................................108
26. Sphagnum tenellum (Bridel) Bory ......................................................................................110
27. Sphagnum torreyanum Sullivant ........................................................................................112
Summary diagram of the stem leaves of species from the subgenus Cuspidata ......................114
Subgenus 4: Subsecunda ............................................................................................. 115
Main traits ...................................................................................................................................116
Key to species .............................................................................................................................117
28. Sphagnum contortum Schultz ............................................................................................124
29. Sphagnum lescurii Sullivant ...............................................................................................126
30. Sphagnum macrophyllum Bridel ........................................................................................128
31. Sphagnum orientale L. I. Savicz-Lubitskaya .......................................................................130
32. Sphagnum perfoliatum L. I. Savicz-Lubitskaya ..................................................................132
33. Sphagnum platyphyllum (Braithwaite) Warnstorf ..............................................................134
34. Sphagnum pylaesii Bridel ...................................................................................................136
35. Sphagnum subsecundum Nees ...........................................................................................138
Sphagnum cyclophyllum Sullivant ............................................................................................140
Subgenus 5: Squarrosa ................................................................................................ 143
Main traits ...................................................................................................................................144
Key to species .............................................................................................................................145
36. Sphagnum mirum Flatberg & Thingsgaard .........................................................................148
37. Sphagnum squarrosum Crome ...........................................................................................150
38. Sphagnum teres (Schimper) Ångström...............................................................................152
39. Sphagnum tundrae K. I. Flatberg ........................................................................................154
Subgenus 6: Acutifolia ................................................................................................. 157
Main traits ...................................................................................................................................158
Key to species .............................................................................................................................159
40. Sphagnum angermanicum Melin ........................................................................................174
41. Sphagnum aongstroemii C. Hartman .................................................................................176
42. Sphagnum arcticum Flatberg & Frisvoll .............................................................................178
43. Sphagnum capillifolium (Ehrhart) R. Hedwig .....................................................................180
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Table of contents
44. Sphagnum concinnum (Berggren) Flatberg ........................................................................182
45. Sphagnum fimbriatum Wilson & Hooker ............................................................................184
46. Sphagnum flavicomans (Cardot) Warnstorf .......................................................................186
47. Sphagnum fuscum (Schimper) H. Klinggräff ......................................................................188
48. Sphagnum girgensohnii Russow .........................................................................................190
49. Sphagnum incundum Flatberg & Hassel .............................................................................192
50. Sphagnum molle Sullivant ..................................................................................................194
51. Sphagnum olafii K. I. Flatberg ............................................................................................196
52. Sphagnum quinquefarium (Braithwaite) Warnstorf ...........................................................198
53. Sphagnum rubellum Wilson ................................................................................................200
54. Sphagnum rubiginosum K. I. Flatberg ................................................................................202
55. Sphagnum russowii Warnstorf ............................................................................................204
56. Sphagnum subfulvum Sjörs ................................................................................................206
57. Sphagnum tenerum Sullivant .............................................................................................208
58. Sphagnum venustum K. I. Flatberg .....................................................................................210
59. Sphagnum warnstorfii Russow ...........................................................................................212
60. Sphagnum wulfianum Girgensohn .....................................................................................214
Summary diagram of the stem leaves of species from the subgenus Acutifolia .......................216
Summary diagram of the main traits of 3 atypical species of the subgenus Acutifolia .............217
Bibliography .............................................................................................................. 219
Appendices ................................................................................................................ 225
Appendix 1: Biology – Anatomy – Morphology ..........................................................................227
Appendix 2: Techniques for collecting, mounting, drying, labelling and storage .....................237
Appendix 3: Microscope preparation techniques.......................................................................245
Example of a table for converting the number of lines of the eyepiece reticle to mm,
according to the length of the mounted object viewed under the microscope. ................... 255
Glossary .................................................................................................................... 257
Alphabetical index of species ....................................................................................... 267
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Acknowledgements
The idea for this project emerged in 2005 when Line Rochefort was awarded the NSERC Synergy Award
for Innovation (Université Laval – The Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association). This permitted
her to allocate the funds needed to digitize thousands of herbarium specimens and produce an atlas
of distribution maps. Following consultation, the authors agreed to make a “Visual identification
guide of the Sphagnum mosses of Quebec and Labrador”, which would include the maps originally
planned for the atlas.
The authors would first like to thank the Louis-Marie Herbarium of Université Laval, as well as the
following herbaria who loaned specimens or granted access to their databases:
• Canadian Museum of Nature (CAN or CANM)
• Complexe scientifique, Herbier du Québec (QUE)
• McGill University, Montreal (MTMG)
• University of Newfoundland (NFLD)
• University of Alberta (ALTA)
• Cornell University (BH)
• Missouri Botanical Garden (MO)
• Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC (US)
• Botanical Museum, University of Oslo (O)
• University of Helsinki (H)
• Université de Montréal (MT)
The authors also thank Professor Kjell Ivar Flatbert who graciously reviewed one of the very first ver-
sions of the document and made judicious suggestions. Mr. Flatberg confirmed the identification of
several debated specimens. He also donated more than 90 Sphagnum specimens collected in Quebec
and Labrador during his summer 2007 expedition. For certain species, some of these represent the
first specimens collected in the Quebec Province, including Sphagnum incundum, Sphagnum perfoli-
atum, Sphagnum tundrae and Sphagnum venustum. Interestingly, S. venustum is a new species that
he discovered and described during this trip.
We also thank Professor Jonathan Shaw, who advised us on taxonomic classifications for eastern
North America, as much through his research on genomics and fundamental systematics as through
his outstanding field experience in boreal and northern environments. We also thank Mr. Shaw and
Ms. Blanka Aguaro (Shaw) for sending us specimens and photographs of specific species.
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