Lycopodium obscurum ground pine/ tree clubmoss Lycopodiaceae LYOB; Q; R, bd, gb, h, ro, t;
Evergreen perennial herb, colonial from deep underground stems (rhizomes), leafy stems erect, to 20 cm tall, tree-like, dark green, branches with a slender, bottle-brush appearance. Leaves tiny, scale-like, overlapping, in 6-8 ranks, about 0.5 cm long, 0.1 cm wide, numerous, sharp-pointed. Spore cones yellow, 2-7 cm long, about 0.6 cm wide, in a candelabra-like arrangement above foliage; spores produced July-Sept. (Radford et al. 1968). Wetland status: FACU. Frequency in NYC: Infrequent. Origin: Native. Habitat: Undisturbed, moist woods, swamp forest edges. Appears more shade tolerant and requiring more moisture than L. digitatum. Notes: see L. digitatum. Lycopodiums cannot be successfully transplanted or propagated for restoration to natural areas (Montgomery and Fairbrothers 1992). Habitat protection is the only means of conserving these plants.
Photo: MBGargiullo