Phylum: Bryophyta
Family: Sphagnaceae
Species: Sphagnum subsecundum
Common name: Corn horn peat moss
Collection date: 9/10/2015
Collector: Caroline Kaylor Georskey
Habitat: This specimen was found in the Triangle Lake Bog in thin mats.
Description: This moss has the bunching fascicles typical of Sphagnum. Although the plant is primarily a light green, the tips of the branches have a brownish hue.
Key used: McKnight, K. B. et al. (2013). Princeton field guides: Common mosses of the northeast
and Appalachians. Princeton, NJ; Princeton University Press.
Peat Moss p. 376
1. Branch leaves with margins flat to somewhat incurved tip long-pointed, not hooded; stem cross-section without conspicuous cortex, less than 1/4 diameter of stem; branches slender, stringy or spiky...
5. Clusters of 5 or fewer branches attached at one point; apical head large or small but not as dense as pom-pom; stems stiff to flexible; plants typically grow as cushions, mats, or carpets either in forests or open habitats such as bogs, fens, or sedge meadow...
6. Branch leaves with apical half gradually narrowed and not bent outward from base (some species may have leaf tips reflexed outward when dry)...
7. Plants green, yellowish, or brownish with no traces of
red...
10. Apical head with curved branches and thus appearing
twisted when viewed from above...
Sphagnum subsecundum
http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=spsu9
Good picture of the leaf cellular structure :-)
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