- Also called:
- ground pine
- Related Topics:
- Phylloglossum
- pygmy club moss
- Huperzia
- Lycopodium
- Lycopodiella
club moss
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What is a club moss?
A club moss is any plant from the order Lycopodiales. These primitive vascular plants often have sporangia, which are spore-producing structures, borne in club-shaped strobili.
They are low evergreen herbs that feature needle-like or scale-like leaves. Many species have conelike clusters of small leaves (strobili), each with a kidney-shaped spore capsule at its base. Common club moss (Lycopodium clavatum) has creeping stems up to 3 meters long and ascending branches. Alpine club moss (Diphasiastrum alpinum) has yellowish or grayish leaves.
Club mosses are homosporous, producing only one kind of spore. Their gametophytes (the sexual phase in their life cycle) can be terrestrial or subterranean, varying in size and shape among genera. Nearly all north temperate zone species have a subterranean gametophyte dependent on a fungus for growth.
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Where are club mosses usually found?
Club mosses, low evergreen herbs with needle-like or scale-like leaves, are typically located in moist environments. The shining club moss (Huperzia lucidula) can be found in wet woods and among rocks in North America, while the fir club moss (H. selago) is native to rocks and bog margins in the Northern Hemisphere. Common club moss (Lycopodium clavatum) grows in open dry woods and rocky places in the Northern Hemisphere. Ground pine (Dendrolycopodium obscurum) is native to moist woods and bog margins in northern North America and eastern Asia. Bog club mosses (Lycopodiella) are commonly found in bogs and other wetland habitats nearly worldwide.
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How does a club moss look different from a true moss?
Club mosses and true mosses, though similar in name, have key differences. True mosses are nonvascular plants. Club mosses are vascular plants with xylem and phloem, possessing true stems, leaves, and roots.
Club mosses are low evergreen herbs with needle-like or scale-like leaves. Many species have conelike clusters of small leaves (strobili), each with a kidney-shaped spore capsule at its base. True mosses have stem-like and leaf-like structures and reproduce by spores.
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How do club mosses reproduce?
Club mosses reproduce through alternation of generations, alternating between a sexual gametophyte phase and an asexual sporophyte phase.
In the sporophyte phase, club mosses produce spores in kidney-shaped spore capsules at the base of conelike clusters of small leaves (strobili). The spores are released and develop into free-living gametophytes after being shed from the parent plant.
The gametophytes of club mosses are typically bisexual, with both antheridia (male sex organs) and archegonia (female sex organs), though they may develop in separate groups. Sperm require water to swim to and fertilize the egg. The resulting zygote develops into the sporophyte, completing the life cycle.
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What are the main parts of a club moss?
Club mosses are low evergreen herbs recognized by their needle-like or scale-like leaves.
Key parts include:
* Leaves Small, needle-like or scale-like.
* Strobili Conelike clusters of small leaves, which contain kidney-shaped spore capsules at their bases.
* Spores Club mosses are homosporous, producing one kind of spore.
* Gametophytes These are terrestrial or subterranean and vary in size and shape, depending on the genera. Some depend on a fungus for continued growth.
* Sporophyte The spore-producing plant that arises from the gametophyte after fertilization.5 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
club moss, (family Lycopodiaceae), any of some 400 species of seedless vascular plants constituting the only family of the lycophyte order Lycopodiales. The taxonomy of the family has been contentious, and the number of genera vary depending on the source. The plants are native mainly to tropical mountains but are also common in northern forests of both hemispheres. See also lower vascular plant.
Physical description
Club mosses are low evergreen herbs with needlelike or scalelike leaves. Many species have conelike clusters of small leaves (strobili), each with a kidney-shaped spore capsule at its base. The plants are homosporous, meaning that they produce just one kind of spore. They have terrestrial or subterranean gametophytes that vary in size and shape depending on the genera. In some species, including nearly all those of the north temperate zone, the subterranean gametophyte is dependent upon an associated fungus for continued growth. This sexual phase alternates in the life cycle with the spore-producing plant, the sporophyte, which is aboveground and is formed following fertilization.
Major genera and species
In 2016 the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group, an informal group of taxonomists from around the world, published their first taxonomic consensus, known as PPG I. The system recognizes 16 genera in the family Lycopodiaceae. including Huperzia (10–15 species), Lycopodiella (15 species), and Lycopodium (9–15 species).
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Shining club moss (Huperzia lucidula), a North American species occurring in wet woods and among rocks, has no distinct strobili; it bears its spore capsules at the bases of leaves scattered along the branches. Fir club moss (H. selago), a 20-cm- (8-inch-) tall plant native to rocks and bog margins in the Northern Hemisphere, also lacks distinct strobili.
Common club moss, also known as running pine or stag’s horn moss (Lycopodium clavatum), has creeping stems up to 3 metres (about 10 feet) long and has 10-cm- (about 4-inch-) high ascending branches. The scalelike green leaves are set closely together. Running pine is native to open dry woods and rocky places in the Northern Hemisphere. The spore-producing leaves are arranged in pairs along a stalklike strobilus.
Ground pine (Dendrolycopodium obscurum), a 25-cm- (10-inch-) tall plant, has underground-running stems. It is native to moist woods and bog margins in northern North America, to mountain areas farther south, and to eastern Asia.
Alpine club moss (Diphasiastrum alpinum), with yellowish or grayish leaves, is native to cold woods and alpine mountains in northern North America and Eurasia. Ground cedar (D. digitatum), native to northern North America, produces fanlike branches resembling juniper branchlets.
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Members of the genus Lycopodiella are commonly known as bog club mosses. They grow in bogs and other wetland habitats nearly worldwide, and many species are native to tropical areas of the Americas.
The pygmy club moss (Phylloglossum drummondii) is the only member of its genus and is found in parts of Australia and New Zealand.