Splachnum luteum

Hedwig

Sp. Musc. Frond., 56. 1801.

Illustrated
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 28. Treatment on page 25. Mentioned on page 27.

Plants light green or yellow-green. Stems 1.5–3.5 cm. Leaves somewhat crowded at stem apices, oblong-obovate, 5–6 mm; margins bluntly serrate to subentire distally, indistinctly bordered; apex slender-acuminate; costa disappearing in acumen somewhat before apex. Seta greenish yellow to orange-red, 2–15.5 cm, slightly twisted. Capsule urn orange-brown, 1–1.5 mm; hypophysis bright yellow, discoid-umbrelliform, much wider than urn, smooth; operculum hemispheric, blunt; exostome teeth inserted below mouth, approximate in pairs, orange-brown. Spores subspheric, 7–9 µm, yellow-green.


Phenology: Capsules mature spring–summer.
Habitat: Dung of large boreal herbivores (such as moose), muskeg, boggy habitats
Elevation: low to high elevations

Distribution

V28 21-distribution-map.gif

Alta., B.C., Man., Nfld. and Labr. (Labr.), N.W.T., Ont., Que., Sask., Alaska, n Europe, Asia.

Discussion

The bright yellow hypophysis on long seta of Splachnum luteum gives this moss the appearance of a flower. The hypophysis is discoid-umbrelliform, unlike the more convex-umbrelliform hypophysis of S. rubrum, and 4.5–11 mm wide. Immature sporophytes look much like the mature sporophytes of S. sphaericum or immature sporophytes of other North American species of Splachnum. The oblong-obovate leaves with bluntly serrate margins that narrow abruptly to a slender acumen, however, help distinguish S. luteum. Splachnum luteum is generally rare although locally common in central Alaska; the plants are often found growing on the same patches of dung with S. sphaericum and sometimes S. rubrum.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.
... more about "Splachnum luteum"
Paul C. Marino +
Hedwig +
Alta. +, B.C. +, Man. +, Nfld. and Labr. (Labr.) +, N.W.T. +, Ont. +, Que. +, Sask. +, Alaska +, n Europe +  and Asia. +
low to high elevations +
Dung of large boreal herbivores (such as moose), muskeg, boggy habitats +
Capsules mature spring–summer. +
Sp. Musc. Frond., +
Illustrated +
Splachnum luteum +
Splachnum +
species +