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Sphagnum palustre

L.

Prairie Peatmoss

G5Secure Found in 6 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.127642
Element CodeNBMUS6Z0T0
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryNonvascular Plant
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomPlantae
PhylumBryophyta
ClassSphagnopsida
OrderSphagnales
FamilySphagnaceae
GenusSphagnum
Other Common Names
prairie sphagnum (EN)
Concept Reference
Anderson, L.E. 1990. A checklist of Sphagnum in North America north of Mexico. The Bryologist 93(4):500-501.
Taxonomic Comments
Karlin et al. (2010) found that "microsatellites show Sphagnum henryense and S. palustre to be conspecific." Buck and Goffinet (2024) follow Karlin et al. (2010) and treat S. henryense as a synonym of S. palustre. Differing, Brinda and Atwood (2026) continue with the FNA (vol. 27, 2007) treatment here and maintain S. henryense and S. palustre as distinct species.
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2017-02-09
Change Date1991-04-29
Ecology & Habitat
Other Nations (2)
CanadaN5
ProvinceRankNative
Prince Edward IslandS5Yes
ManitobaSNRYes
British ColumbiaS4Yes
LabradorS3Yes
OntarioS5Yes
New BrunswickS4Yes
QuebecS3Yes
Nova ScotiaS5Yes
Island of NewfoundlandS4Yes
United StatesNNR
ProvinceRankNative
MissouriSNRYes
GeorgiaSNRYes
IllinoisSNRYes
ConnecticutSNRYes
New HampshireSNRYes
TexasSNRYes
North CarolinaSNRYes
AlabamaSNRYes
MississippiSNRYes
FloridaSNRYes
MassachusettsSNRYes
MarylandSNRYes
KentuckySNRYes
DelawareS5Yes
VermontS5Yes
OhioSNRYes
MaineSNRYes
IowaSNRYes
WisconsinS4Yes
CaliforniaSNRYes
New JerseySNRYes
MichiganSNRYes
PennsylvaniaS5Yes
VirginiaS5Yes
ArkansasSNRYes
TennesseeS3Yes
South CarolinaSNRYes
OklahomaSNRYes
OregonSNRYes
New YorkSNRYes
IndianaSNRYes
WashingtonSNRYes
Rhode IslandSNRYes
West VirginiaSNRYes
LouisianaSNRYes
Plant Characteristics
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (6)
Alabama (1)
AreaForestAcres
Blue MountainTalladega National Forest4,986
Kentucky (1)
AreaForestAcres
WolfpenDaniel Boone National Forest2,835
New Hampshire (1)
AreaForestAcres
Kinsman MountainWhite Mountain National Forest8,999
Oregon (2)
AreaForestAcres
Gordon MeadowsWillamette National Forest9,463
Hebo 1aSiuslaw National Forest13,930
West Virginia (1)
AreaForestAcres
Cranberry Glades Botanical AreaMonongahela National Forest785
References (5)
  1. Anderson, L.E. 1990. A checklist of <i>Sphagnum </i>in North America north of Mexico. The Bryologist 93(4):500-501.
  2. Brinda, J.C., and J.J. Atwood. 2026. A Synopsis of <i>Sphagnum</i>. The Bryophyte Nomenclator. Online. Available: https://www.bryonames.org/synonymy?search=Sphagnum (accessed 2026).
  3. Buck, W.R. and B. Goffinet. 2024. A new checklist of the mosses of the continental United States and Canada. The Bryologist 127(4): 484-549.
  4. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2007b. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 27. Bryophytes: Mosses, Part 1. Oxford University Press, New York. xxi + 713 pp.
  5. Karlin, E.F., M.M. Giusti, R.A. Lake, S.B. Boles, and A.J. Shaw. 2010. Microsatellite analysis of <i>Sphagnum centrale, S. henryense, </i>and <i>S. palustre </i>(Sphagnaceae). The Bryologist 113(1): 90-98.