Close photograph of red Sphagnum capillifolium moss heads among pale stems.
Attributed biological photograph

Close photograph of red Sphagnum capillifolium moss heads among pale stems.

Kristian Hassel / NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet; CC BY 4.0, via Artsdatabanken. · CC BY 4.0 · Image source

Identified as Sphagnum capillifolium in NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet’s image record. Locality is unspecified.

Overview

The British and Irish Bryological Society describes closely packed shoots that build firm, peat-forming hummocks topped by convex capitula resembling small reddish cauliflower heads. It typically grows on deep peat of blanket bogs and moors in oceanic areas.

Stem-leaf size and shape distinguish it from Sphagnum rubellum, which older British guides treated as a subspecies. The society now separates the two, so records made under the older broad concept may not apply to this narrower taxon.

A 2024 RAD-sequencing study resolved at least fourteen phylogenetic clusters in the capillifolium complex within subgenus Acutifolia. Its authors infer multiple glacial refugia followed by dispersal and bottlenecks; these are complex-wide reconstructions rather than species-specific observations.

Firm peat-forming hummocksConvex reddish capitulaStem-leaf size and shape diagnostic against S. rubellumDeep peat of blanket bogs and moors
01

Origins & earliest records

Naming chronology not verified. Population-history hypotheses are attributed to the 2024 complex-wide study.

02

Evidence & interpretation

British and Irish Bryological Society species account; 2024 original-study abstract indexed in PubMed.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Parallel patterns of genetic diversity and structure in circumboreal species of the Sphagnum capillifolium complex

    · 2024

    Selected bibliography; population genomics of the capillifolium complex.

  2. 02

    Sphagnum capillifolium

    · n.d.

    Selected bibliography; society species account covering description and habitat.

Family, evolution & connections

Taxonomic classification

A hierarchy of classified groups, not a chain of direct ancestors.

Source note: Treated separately from Sphagnum rubellum, following the current society account.

  1. SubgenusAcutifolia
  2. SpeciesSphagnum capillifolium

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Society species accountSphagnum capillifoliumResearch access: 2026-10-07
  2. Indexed study abstractParallel patterns of genetic diversity and structure in circumboreal species of the Sphagnum capillifolium complexResearch access: 2026-10-07

Image credits

Attributed biological photograph

Close photograph of red Sphagnum capillifolium moss heads among pale stems.

Kristian Hassel / NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet; CC BY 4.0, via Artsdatabanken. · CC BY 4.0 · Image source

Identified as Sphagnum capillifolium in NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet’s image record. Locality is unspecified.

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