Name: |
- Lycopodium, from the Greek, lukos
(lukos) "wolf", and podos
(podos) "foot"; "wolf's foot", a reference to the resemblance of
the branch tips to a wolf's paw.
- annotinum, from the Latin annotinus, "a year old, of
last year"
- Common name from the stiff and prickly upright stems.
- Other common names include Bristly Clubmoss, Interrupted Clubmoss, lycopode
innovant, lycopode à feuilles de Genévrier (Qué),
Revlummer (Swe), Stri kråkefot, Strid kråkefot
(ssp. annotinum), Fjellkråkefot (Nor), Femradet Ulvefod
(Dan), Riidenlieko (Fin), Lyngjafni (Is), Sprossender
Bärlapp (Ger), Lus a' Bhalgair (Gaelic), Kígyózó
korpafû (Hun)
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Taxonomy: |
- Kingdom Plantae, the Plants
- Division Lycopodiophyta, the Club Mosses
- Class Lycopodiopsida, the Club Mosses
- Order Lycopodiales, the Club Mosses
- Family Lycopodiaceae, the Club Mosses
- Genus Lycopodium, the Club Mosses
- Taxonomic Serial Number: 17018
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Description: |
- A running evergreen, rhizomatous clubmoss; linear, almost two dimensional
in form. Height to 6"
- Roots pallid-brown, adventitious, arising from the underside
of the prostrate stem.
- Horizontal stem to 40", branching, creeping on ground, often hidden
under litter, with upright groups of branching stems.
- Vertical stem stiff, erect; circular or oval in cross-section;
bristly with few branches; upswept in the direction of growth
- Leaves 1/3" long, downward pointing
- Cones individual, slim and pointed, yellow, 1½", on
short stems.
- rhizomatous; elongate, or compact. Branches yellowish (green). Leaves
distributed along the stems; alternate; evergreen (stiff and bristly).
Blades 2–7 mm long; 0.8–1.2 mm wide; spreading from the vertical,
or divaricate, or reflexed; leathery; straight, or somewhat curled (particularly
along horizontal stems); linear, or elliptic; flat; with inconspicuous
veins; adaxial surface glabrous. Plants reproducing by spores borne
in sporangia. Sporangia in terminal cone-like structures.
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Identification: |
- Identifiable as
- Distinguished from tree-like clubmosses by its linear form and horizontal
stem on the surface of the ground.
- Distinguished from other running clubmosses by its individual cones
on short stems.
- Field Marks
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Distribution: |
- Circumboreal; Greenland and Labrador to Alaska, south to the NW United
States, Colorado, and Virginia.
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Habitat: |
- Cool, damp, shaded thickets; moist woods, bogs, and meadows; higher
sites in wooded swamps.
- Sites typically cool and shaded but occasionally dry, exposed, and
rocky. Soils acidic, well to poorly drained.
- Substrates, tundra (often in heathy areas or herb mats); imperfectly
drained moist areas (sunny places); non-calcareous rocks (granite or
gneiss); gravel, sand, till; with low organic content.
- Occurrence of Stiff Clubmoss increases with increasing latitude.
- Shade tolerant, occurring in mature forests throughout its range.
- Stiff clubmoss spores develop from late July to early October
- Coniferous, northern hardwoods, and mixed hardwoods habitats. May
also occur in grass-sedge-heath communities.
- Characteristic of boreal coniferous forests. It is also an indicator
of White Spruce (Picea glauca)/
Balsam Fir (Abies balsamea)
communites in the Great Lakes States.
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Fire: |
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Associates: |
- Trees: Balsam Fir (Abies
balsamea), White Spruce (Picea
glauca)
- Shrubs: Alder (Alnus spp.), Bunchberry (Cornus
canadensis), Labrador Tea (Ledum
groenlandicum), Twinflower (Linnaea
borealis), Prickly Rose (Rosa
acicularis), American Yew (Taxus
canadensis), Blueberry (Vaccinium spp.), Highbush Cranberry
(Viburnum trilobum)
- Herbs: Red Baneberry (Actaea
rubra), Wild Sarsaparilla (Aralia
nudicaulis), Heartleaf Arnica (Arnica cordifolia), Lady
Fern (Athyrium felix-femina),
Calypso orchids (Calypso spp.), Sedges (Carex spp.), Blue
Bead Lily (Clintonia borealis),
Coral Root (Corallorrhiza spp.), Woodferns (Dryopteris
spp.), Horsetails (Equisetum
spp.), Fringed orchids (Habenaria spp.), Miterwort (Mitella
spp.), One Sided Shinleaf (Pyrola secunda), Sidebells Shinleaf
(Pyrola uniflora), Rose Twisted Stalk (Streptopus
rosea), Meadowrues (Thalictrum spp.)
- Ground Covers: Reindeer Lichen (Cladonia
spp.), Mnium mosses (Mnium spp.), Haircap Moss (Polytrichum
spp.), Rhytdiadelphus spp., and other lichens, (Stereocaulon
spp., Peltigera spp.)
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History: |
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Uses: |
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Reproduction: |
- Clonal, reproducing primarily by sprouting from rhizomes. It also
produces spores and a subterranean, mycorrhizal gametophyte.
- Spores develop from late July to early October.
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Propagation: |
- Very difficult; division may be the most successful method.
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Cultivation: |
- Clubmosses can make attractive ground covers, but they do not transplant
well.
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Links: |
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Comments: |
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Last Updated on
26 February, 2004
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