Selaginella selaginoides : Low Spikemoss

Taxonomy

Scientific Name:

Kingdom: Plantae

Division:

Class: Lycopodiopsida (club-moss class)

Family: Selaginellaceae (Spikemoss Family)

Genera: Selaginella (Spikemoss) (Lat. diminutive of selago = little club-moss)

Species: selaginoides (Lat. another diminutive of selago = little club-moss)

English Name(s):

Low Spikemoss,

First Nation Names:


Description

Structure:

  • Fertile stems ascending, to 15mm long.
  • Plant tiny, delicate, forming small mats.
  • Vegetative stems weak, slender, more or less prostrate

Leaves:

  • Yellow-green, 1.5-3mm long,broadly lanceolate, tips tapering to a point, edges widely spiny-toothed.

Reproductive Parts:

  • Strobili cylindrical, solitary, borne at the stem tips, 2-4 cm long, sessile (stalkless).

Seed:

Not to Be Confused With:

  • Mosses; until one recognizes this little vascular plant, it could be mistaken for a moss.

Biology

Physiology:

    Life Cycle:

    Seasonal Cycle:

    • Evergreen

    Ecology

    Animal Uses:

      Habitat:

      • Damp mossy ground, moist banks, bogs, boggy woods, especially on calcareous soil.

      Uses

      Modern:

      Industrial:

      Medicinal:

        Food:

          Traditional Gwich'in:

          Folklore:

            Industrial:

              Medicinal:

                Food:

                  Traditional Other:

                  Folklore:

                  • Some first nations wore the fresh plants on their clothes to prevent sickness.

                  Industrial:

                    Medicinal:

                    • Plants were placed on the head as a headache remedy, or were boiled in water and the strained, cooled liquid used as a medicinal eye wash.

                    Food:

                      Images

                      Illustration from: Illustrated Flora of BC


                      Range Maps

                      World Range: Circumpolar with gaps.

                      Prov/State Abrev. List


                      In Yukon: Not known north of 65 degrees.

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