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Palhinhaea cernua
Also called Fairy Christmas Tree, Nodding Club Moss, Nodding Clubmoss
Staghorn clubmoss is a low, creeping fern ally with trailing rhizomes and upright, branched, needle-like shoots, often grown for its fine, feathery look. It needs consistently moist, humid conditions and bright, indirect light to thrive.
Palhinhaea cernua, synonym Lycopodiella cernua and Lycopodium cernuum, is a plant in the family Lycopodiaceae, commonly known as the staghorn clubmoss. The Hawaiian name for the plant is wāwaeʻiole, or "rat's foot". It has a substantial number of scientific synonyms in several genera. The genus Palhinhaea is accepted in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), but not in other classifications which submerge the genus in Lycopodiella. It is the largest of the clubmosses, having rhizomes up to 5 m (16 ft) in length, with leafy uprights up to 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) in height.
Palhinhaea cernua is a widespread pan-tropical species, found mostly at higher elevations in subtropical mountain climates of tropical Africa, Asia, the Pacific Islands and the Neotropics. In Europe, it is found in the Azores (where it is possibly native) and formerly on Madeira. It has been introduced in continental Portugal (Valongo), Sicily and Malta.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Palhinhaea cernua by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
