Polytrichastrum alpinum var. fragile
Meddel. Grønland, Biosci. 17: 30. 1985,.
Basionym: Polytrichum fragile Bryhn Bryoph. Itin. Pol. Norv., 122, plate 122, fig. 3. 1906
Synonyms: Pogonatum alpinum var. fragile (Bryhn) H. A. Crum Polytrichum alpinum var. fragile (Bryhn) Nyholm
Stems 1–2 cm, in compact tufts. Leaves fragile, constricted at the junction of sheath and blade, the blade caducous; marginal lamina entire, rarely distantly serrulate. Capsule ovoid or subglobose.
Habitat: Growing where subject to periodic inundation, wet meadows, springs and lake margins, occasional in open tundra, beach ridges and roadside banks, low elevations
Distribution
Greenland, N.W.T., Nunavut, Alaska, Europe (n Scandinavia), Asia (Russia in Siberia).
Discussion
Variety fragile is a distinctive taxon of the high Arctic with regularly caducous leaves, in North America common only in arctic Alaska on the coastal plain to 100(–800) m, with scattered records throughout arctic Canada (D. G. Long 1985). In Nunavut, it is known from Baffin Island, Ellesmere Island, and Melville Island.
Selected References
None.
Lower Taxa
None.
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