| Author | Hill, M.O. |
| Year | 1992 |
| Title | Sphagnum: a field guide |
| ISBN | 1 873701 14 4 |
| Type | Book/Report |
| How Complete | all the British species known at the time |
| Source | 31pp, Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Peterborough |
| Illustrations | Line drawings of salient features accompany the text |
| Review (by Malcolm Storey) | A short guide to help the non-specialist to identify Sphagnum, or provide a handy aide-memoire to the more experienced. A laudable aim: these are the most significant organisms in acid habitats. People are often put off by their supposed difficulty, but at least the larger species are easy to identify with a hand lens, and once learnt can be recognised at sight. The booklet starts with 5 pages of glossary explaining the structure of the Sphagnum plant, half a dozen terms and pictures of leaf shapes. This is followed by the General Key (ie Key to Sections), followed by the individual Section keys. Each of these starts with a list of characteristic features and a few words of advice. |
| Examine |  with x8 or x10 hand lens ( with x15 or x20 hand lens is also useful) |
| Specimen Preparation | Fresh material |
| Identification difficulty | Generally strightforward, but Section Acutifolia is more tricky. Plants growing in shade may give trouble. Microscopy sometimes needed. |
