Sphagnum capillifolium Red Bog-moss

Sphagnum capillifolium was previously split into two subspecies, subsp. capillifolium and subsp. rubellum, but these taxa are now interpreted as separate species. Like Sphagnum rubellum it is a striking red-coloured, monoicous or dioicous bog-moss which grows in peat bogs and on wet moorland and is a significant peat former. It differs from Sphagnum rubrum in its more rounded (not flat-topped) capitula and in its larger stem leves which are usually more than 1.2mm lomg. Its distribution and abundance in Britain, including Wales and West Glamorgan, is not well understood because it has rarely been differentiated from Sphagnum rubellum in the past. It has been recorded in boggy areas on Gower Commons and in peat bogs in The South Wales Coalfield, but it appears to be less common than Sphagnum rubrum. Sporophyte capsules are occasional.