On the morphological delimitation Of Sphagnum henryense

Abstract

Sphagnum henryense (subg. Sphagnum ) differs from S. palustre in having abundant small pores on the dorsal surface of branch leaves. Recently studies usually consider it as a doubtful species or even merely a synonym of S. palustre. We revealed S. palustre -like plants, with numerous small round pores very similar to those of S. henryense in collection from Russian Far East, South Kuril Islands. The morphometric studies of these plants, along with S. henryense from other regions of Asia and North America and S. palustre from the same areas and Europe revealed statistically reliable differences in three traits of pores in the hyaline cells on abaxial branch leaf surface: (1) number, (2) length, (3) length to width ratio