Sphagnum sparsum Hampe

Authority

Sharp, Aaron J., et al. 1994. The Moss Flora of Mexico. Part One: Sphagnales to Bryales. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 69 (1): 1-452.

Family

Sphagnaceae

Scientific Name

Sphagnum sparsum Hampe

Description

Species Description - Plants rather slender, in low, compact, pinkish or yellowish-green mats. Capitula dense, rounded. Wood cylinder of stem yellowish-pink; cortical cells in 4 layers, without fibrils generally porose at the upper ends. Stem leaves oblong or oblongovate, somewhat concave at the broadly acute and shghtiy erose apex, the border narrow above, slightly broadened at the base the median basal cells somewhat enlarged in a triangular area; hyaline cells commonly l(-2)-divided, ± fibrillose in the upper 1/3-1/2, occasionally throughout, on the outer surface with membrane pleats and sometimes a few, scattered, round membrane gaps, on the inner surface largely resorbed or sometimes with 1 to several large, round membrane gaps or pores in commissural rows. Branches in fascicles of 4 (2 spreading); cortical cells without fibrils, the retort cells with rather conspicuous necks. Branch leaves crowded, not noticeably ranked, sometimes shghtiy secund, broadly oblong-lanceolate, narrowly involute-pointed, toothed across the narrowly tuncate apex, bordered by a few rows of linear cells; hyaline cells fibrillose, decidedly convex on the outer surface, only shghtiy so on the inner, on the outer surface with pores numerous, at the leaf tip very small, elliptic, and strongly ringed, in ends and comers (often in 3s at adjacent comers), becoming larger and less ringed below, on the inner surface with a few small, round pseudopores and occasionally 1-2 rather large, round gaps (of nearly cell width) in ends and comers toward the leaf tip; green cells in section broadly triangular, with the base exposed on the inner surface. Apparently dioicous. Spores ca. 22 µm, smooth or nearly so.

Discussion

S. sparsum Hampe, Vidensk. Meddel. Dansk. Naturhist Foren Kjøbenhavn III, 2: 259. 1870.

The plants are compact in habit and often reddish. The cells of the stem cortex are uniformly porose. The stem leaves are involute-pointed, and their hyaline cells, usually more or less fibrillose and rather consistently 1-2-divided, have m e m brane pleats on the outer surface. T h e branch leaves are crowded-imbricate and rather slenderly involute-acuminate. The green cells of the branch leaves are broadly exposed on the inner surface; and the upper hyaline cells, on their outer surfaces, have numerous, small, elliptic, strongly ringed pores.

Distribution

On wet, shaded banks and cliffs at 2000-3300 m altitude; Chiapas (Liquidambar; Montebello; Mapastepec), Oaxaca (Sierra de Juarez; Zacatepec; Llano de las Flores; Chinantla), Puebla (Honey Station).—Eastern and southern Mexico; Guatemala and Costa Rica; northern South America

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