[Review] Field Guide to the Peat Mosses of Boreal North America, by C. B. McQueen. 1990

2 Pages·1991·1.2 MB·English

by  R R Ireland

RHODORA,
Vol. 93, No. 874, pp. 200-201, 1991
BOOK
REVIEW
McQueen. Guide Peat Mosses Boreal
C. B. 990. Field to the of
1
+
North America. Pp. xiv 138 (+ 8 of colored plates).
pp.
New
Lebanon Hano-
University Press of England, XlVi
St.,
NH
03755.
ver, (Price: $22.95, soft cover).
commonly
Sphagnum, sometimes
called ''peat moss'' or ''bog
probably most important moss nature and
moss,'' the single in
is
More
the one of most value to humankind. uses have been found
Sphagnum everyday and commercial than any other
for
for in life
common
moss. very and widespread the northern part of
in
It is
North America, especially in the boreal regions. According to the
McQueen, who on Sphagnum,
Cyrus an authority the
author,
is
moss covers approximately 500 million acres of North America.
The and by and
plants are frequently seen collected scientists
who want know one would
Therefore,
naturalists to their identity.
many
think that there would be manuals such as this one to help
known
identify the approximately 60 species for the continent,
guide
but this certainly is not the case. In fact, this is the first field
Sphagnum
North America.
to for
The book morphology
has a short introduction describing the
and terminology of mosses Line
peat as well as their cycle.
life
drawings show types of branch fascicles, capitula and branch leaf
arrangements while photographs show gametophyte with the
a
sporophyte attached and spore viewed under a scanning electron
a
microscope.
An
interesting section on ecology describes the habitat zonation
Sphagnum how
o^ and this feature can be used to help identify
zonation along a wet-to-dry gradient discussed;
species. First, is
how some
the author explains certain species only occur in parts
A
amount
of wetlands depending on the of moisture available.
second zonation, along a nutrient gradient, hmits distribution of
pH
some and
species within a certain range closely associated
is
hummock
with the wet-to-dry gradient; the driest habitat,
e.g.,
A
tops, are also the most acidic. final zonation, based on degree
of exposure tolerance to sunlight), provides useful identifi-
(i.e.,
cation aids since some species grow only in shaded habitats while
others grow only in open habitats. Different types of peatlands,
especially bogs, fens and swamps, are defined and briefly dis-
The on
cussed. ecology section ends with a discussion succession
and formation of
the different stages in a bog.
200
Book Review
1991] 201
ma
de-
and
scriptions, illustrations color photographs, aimed
all at field
of Sphagnum. There
identification
are three keys in the book; the
necessary
metric
qmck
proviaea means
as a ot identiiymg 26 and one
species
common
most Sphagnum
variety of the found
in boreal regions
of Canada and the United The key employs 67
States. charac-
teristics utilizing macroscopic features of stem and branch
leaves,
number
of spreading branches per capitulum,
fascicle, color, ex-
posure, ecology and The
second
habitat. key, a traditional de-
key same
scriptive to the 27 Sphagna, follows with the taxa keying
out one of seven
to sections in the genus, the user then
referring
to the individual section key Each
to identify the
species. species
has
a short description of the
plant's characters, including
field
how
remarks on
relevant from
to distinguish other species with
it
may
which
be confused. Line drawings of stem and
it a leaf
sometimes branch accompany
a leaf each
description. Finally, the
which
third key, one and somewhat
also a traditional
is similar
to the second key with use of
its sections, includes the majority
A
of taxa found North
(46) in northeastern America. glossary and
short of books about Sphagnum and
list their identification that
recommends
the author
for further reading conclude the book.
The
keys are clear and are based on easy-to-use macroscopic
characters that should present few problems The
to the user. color
Sphagnum
plates of 30 taxa oi are an important and
useful feature
of this attractive book. Although the plates are small, 4 x
ca. 6
cm,
the photos are generally very clear and the color of the plants
most
seems
cases be very
to
small X 23 cm, makes
easy to carry
it
which
is essential for a field guide.
Amateur
naturalists, students
ai
immense
help in identifying the peat mosses commonly
that are so seen
in
boreal wetlands of North America. Because
the majority of the
have
species a circumpolar
distribution, the guide should be
also
useful outside North America. The book recommended
highly
is
for those learning to identify peat mosses because of and
the clear
simDlified annroach.
ROBERT IRELAND, CANADIAN MUSEUM OF NATURE
R.
OTTAWA, CANADA
ONTARIO,
KIP
6P4