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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)
United StatesNNR
ProvinceRankNative
TennesseeS3Yes
MaineSNRYes
West VirginiaSNRYes
KentuckySNRYes
DelawareS5Yes
WashingtonSNRYes
TexasSNRYes
GeorgiaSNRYes
LouisianaSNRYes
MississippiSNRYes
Rhode IslandSNRYes
New HampshireSNRYes
South CarolinaSNRYes
MarylandSNRYes
WisconsinS4Yes
OregonSNRYes
MichiganSNRYes
North CarolinaSNRYes
VermontS5Yes
PennsylvaniaS5Yes
ConnecticutSNRYes
New JerseySNRYes
AlabamaSNRYes
MassachusettsSNRYes
OklahomaSNRYes
IowaSNRYes
FloridaSNRYes
OhioSNRYes
New YorkSNRYes
IllinoisSNRYes
MissouriSNRYes
IndianaSNRYes
CaliforniaSNRYes
ArkansasSNRYes
VirginiaS5Yes
CanadaN5
ProvinceRankNative
Island of NewfoundlandS4Yes
QuebecS3Yes
Prince Edward IslandS5Yes
British ColumbiaS4Yes
ManitobaSNRYes
Nova ScotiaS5Yes
OntarioS5Yes
LabradorS3Yes
New BrunswickS4Yes
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.