Sphagnum<\/i> is an amazing little plant.\u00a0 It is unique morphologically with its terminal tuft of branches (capitulum) and clustered branches along the main stem.\u00a0 These latter branches are dimorphic: spreading away from the main stem (divergent) and hanging down along the main stem (pendent).<\/p>\n
Microscopically it is a treat.\u00a0 The leaves have large dead hyaline cells patterned with pores and wall thickenings (fibrils) surrounded by photosynthetic cells.\u00a0 Differences in distribution and structures help with identification (see key).\u00a0 There are approximately 250 species, but lucky for us we have only 20 or so locally.<\/p>\n
Ecologically, this moss generates its own ecosystem.\u00a0 It is the foundation on which bogs are built.\u00a0 In fact you could say that other vegetation is epiphytic on Sphagnum<\/i>.\u00a0 It not only thrives in this acidic environment, but contributes to acidity through its cation exchange system.\u00a0 Bogs with their unique flora make them a fascinating ecosystem to explore.<\/p>\n
It is easy to see why Sphagnum<\/i> for many becomes an obsession!<\/p>\n
Sphagnum<\/i> until recently was the only genus in the Sphagnopsida.\u00a0 The discovery in Tasmania of a very unusual related plant, named Ambuchanania<\/i>, resulted in the addition of a new family Ambuchananiaceae.\u00a0 Phylogenetic studies using molecular techniques have revealed interesting relationships and have prompted re-evaluation of the taxonomy and the addition of two new genera (new families) and families () (Shaw, 2010)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sphagnum is an amazing little plant.\u00a0 It is unique morphologically with its terminal tuft of branches (capitulum) and clustered branches along the main stem.\u00a0 These latter branches are dimorphic: spreading away from the main stem (divergent) and hanging down along the main stem (pendent). Microscopically it is a treat.\u00a0 The leaves have large dead hyaline […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2141,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/sphagnum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/sphagnum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/sphagnum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/sphagnum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2141"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/sphagnum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/sphagnum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":774,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/sphagnum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2\/revisions\/774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/sphagnum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}