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