Peat- Mosses 



Male branch 

 perigonium. 



Sphagnum rubellum. 



Perigonial 

 leaf. 



Sphagnum rubellum. Portion 

 of cross section of stem. 



Branch leaves. 

 Sphagnum cuspidatum. 



Name. The specific name is the Latin cuspidatum, sharpened 

 at the end, referring to the cluster-branches. 



Plants (gametophyte). Long and slender, 6 to 18 inches or even 

 several feet; cluster-branches (fascicles), spreading or hanging, 

 not closely appressed to the stem, 3 to 5, tapering to a stout point 

 owing to the fact that the terminal leaves are rolled lengthwise. 



Leaves. Stem-leaves small, triangular, apex 2- to jj-toothed ; 

 branch-leaves loose, erect spreading, wavy on the margins when dry, 

 lance-like and taper-pointed, deeply concave, apex with several 

 small teeth; awl-shaped at the ends of the branches. 



Leaves at the base of the spore-case. Distant, broadly ovate, 

 apex cut square or obtuse; large cells lined with fibrils. 



Habit of flowering. Male and female flowers on separate 

 plants (dioicous). 



Spore-case. Scattered down the stem, small, the false pedicel 

 often half an inch long. 



Spores. Light brown, mature in July. 



Distribution. Universal. 



Sphagnum squarrosum. Transverse 

 section of leaf. 



Apex. 



Leaves from divergent branch. 

 Sphagnum squarrosum. 



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