Blunt-leaved Bog-moss - Sphagnum palustre

Sphagnum palustre forms large untidy loose hummocks ranging in colour from green to brownish.  Ochraceous colours deveop in unshaded plants in autumn and winter.   In well-grown specimens there are usually 2 to 3 spreading branches and up to 4 pendant branches. 

It is in Section Sphagnum, characterised by hooded concave branch-leaves and a wide, pale outer cortex to the stem, which has a dark core.  The stem cortex is made up of 3-4 rows of hyaline (clear and transparent) cells. 

In its green state it can be very similar to other common green Sphagnum - check for hooded leaf-tips and wide stem cortex.  Sphagnum papillosum has papillae on the cell walls of the branch-leaves which can only be seen under high magnification; it also usually has 1 - 2 pendant branches.

Detailed photographs taken in the field and from a specimen.  We recommend that a detailed note of location or GPS reading is made and that a small specimen - e.g. two or three shoots - is retained in case this is needed for verification; all Sphagnum are rare or scarce in VC55 and should not be over-collected.

Shade tolerant, may be found in wet woodland, ditches, ponds and stream margins and flushes that have some nutrient enrichment

All year round.

Widespread and fairly frequent in Britain, but less common in parts of central and eastern England.

Uncommon

https://www.britishbryologicalsociety.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sphagnum-palustre.pdf