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30 A MANUAL OF MOSSES 



4. Sphagnum medium Limpricht. 



(S. cymbifolium var. compaction Russow ; .S\ compaction Bridel). 



(Plate II) 



Deeply cespitose up to 8-10 cm., gray-green to bluish- 

 green, rose-red to purple-red above, brownish or somewhat 

 bleached below; stems rather densely branched, the cuticular 

 sheath consisting of 3-5 layers, distinct, the outer cells small- 

 est, porose and weakly fibrillose, the wood-cylinder castaneous 

 to rose-red, thick-walled; stem-leaves about 1.5 mm. Ion- 

 (1-2 mm.), broadly lingulate-spatulate, the upper 

 margins and the broadly rounded apex fimbri- 

 ate ; the upper hyaline cells of the stem-leaves 

 usually fibrillose and dorsally porose ; brandies usual- 

 ly short, two slender and appressed to the stem, pendent, 

 and two horizontally spreading or somewhat up-curved, thick- 

 fusiform, the comal and upper more or less obtuse, the lower 

 short-pointed ; cuticular cells of branches densely fibrillose. 

 porose; branch-leaves usually densely but sometimes loosely 

 imbricated, 1.5-2.0 mm. long, broadly ovate, very concave. 

 cucullate, the apex dorsally rough by erosion of the cell- walls. 

 the margin consisting of one or two very narrow cells which 

 are often eroded away and the edge left more or less dentate ; 

 hyaline cells of the branch-leaves rather densely fibrillose. 

 dorsally with a few rather large pores usually confined to the 

 cell-angles; chlorophyllose cells in cross-section small, elliptic. 

 central, enclosed deeply on both sides by the hyaline cells, the 

 lateral walls smooth : capsule considerably exserted ; spores 

 stated to be .024-.028 mm., somewhat rust-colored, finely 

 punctulate. 



In bogs, etc. Almost cosmopolitan; in North America oc- 

 curring from Newfoundland to Alaska south to British Co- 

 lumbia and Florida. 



Center : In a sink-hole pond in the Barrens, near Scotia, 

 July 17 and September 22, 1909. O. E. J. 

 ( Figured). 



5. Sphagnum compactum | Roth | Schwaegrichen. 



(Plate II) 



Densely cespitose, gray-green or glaucous-green, some- 

 times brownish above, below whitish or grayish-brown, com- 

 pactly and closely short-branched : stems stout, low, in ours 

 4-8 cm. high, with a cuticular sheath of usually 3 layers of 

 cells, the outermost cells largest, non-fibril lose, the wood- 

 cylinder decidedly castaneous or sometimes yellowish ; stem- 

 leaves very small, 0.6-0.8 mm. long, broadly to equilaterally 

 triangular-Ungulate, the apex concave and broadly rounded or 



