Plants: moderate-sized to robust, often quite dense and compact; green, brownish green, golden brown to dark brown; capitulum flat-topped and not especially 5-radiate. Stems: green to dark brown; superficial cortex of 2 layers of enlarged, moderately differentiated cells. Stem: leaves triangular to triangular-lingulate, 0.9–1.1 mm; appressed to spreading; apex apiculate, acute or narrowly obtuse, appressed to spreading; hyaline cells nonseptate and efibrillose. Branches: straight to more typically curved, typically stout and blunt ended; strongly 5-ranked, leaves not much elongate at distal end. Branch: fascicles with 2 spreading and 2 pendent branches. Branch: stems green but often reddish at proximal end, with cortex enlarged with conspicuous retort cells. Branch: leaves ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 1.4–1.8 mm; straight to often subsecund; weakly undulate and slightly recurved; hyaline cells on convex surface with 1 pore per cell at apical end of cell, on concave surface with round wall thinnings in the cells ends and angles; chlorophyllous cells triangular to triangular-ovate in transverse section, very well-enclosed within concave surface. Sexual: condition dioicous. Spores: 25–28 µm; roughly papillous on both surfaces; proximal laesura more than 0.5 the length of the spore.
Abundant in poor fens and raised bogs, forming dense carpets at water level, especially on floating mats. low to moderate elevations. Man., N.B., Nfld. and Labr. (Nfld.), N.S., Ont., Que., Alaska, Conn., Ind., Maine, Mass., Mich., Minn., N.H., N.J., N.Y., Wis., W.Va., Europe.
Sporophytes are uncommon in Sphagnum pulchrum. With its distinctive broad and strongly 5-ranked branch leaves, It is one of our most easily recognized species.