Taxonomy
Family: Lycopodiaceae
Habitat
Moist, acid coniferous forests and exposed grassy or rocky sites. Often at high elevation.
Associates
Distribution
New England to NC, TN in mountains, west through MI, northern WI and MN to AK and some western states. Most of Canada. Circumboreal.
Morphology
Perennial from horizontal, sparsely leafy stems. Upright shoots mostly unbranched, in clusters. Leaves spreading to reflexed, linear, upper half serrate; apex spinulose without hair tip. Strobili sessile, solitary, terminal, to 3 cm long.
Notes
Strobili present mid-summer into fall.
Wetland indicator: FAC
Might be mistaken for Huperzia lucidula which is a darker green, wider leaves, and sori produced in the axils of the leaves rather than in a terminal strobilus.
References
Gleason, Henry A.
and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States
and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.
The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY.
Haines, A. 2011. Flora Novae Angliae: a manual for the identification of native and naturalized higher vascular plants of New England. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT.
USDA, NRCS. 2002. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5 (http://plants.usda.gov).
National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.
Michael Hough © 2009 |