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Spikemoss

Selaginella

Also called Lesser Clubmoss, Spike Moss, Spikemosses

Spikemoss
Photo: L. Fdez., CC BY-SA 2.1 es

Selaginella is a large genus of around 750 small, fern-like lycophytes (spikemosses) with scale-like leaves, mostly tropical and grown as ornamentals. Most cultivated members, such as S. kraussiana and S. martensii, need humid conditions and steady moisture.

Family
Selaginellaceae (Selaginell family)
Grows as
Fern
Light
Full sun
Water
Keep soil evenly moist and never let it dry out; mist or use a humid environment for tropical species.
Soil
Peat-based or humusy mix with good drainage, kept moist.
Temperature
18–26 °C; protect below 10 °C
How easy
Moderate

About

Selaginella, also known as spikemosses or lesser clubmosses, is a genus of lycophyte. It is usually treated as the only genus in the family Selaginellaceae, with over 750 known species.

This family is distinguished from Lycopodiaceae (the clubmosses) by having scale-leaves bearing a ligule and by having spores of two types. They are sometimes included in an informal paraphyletic group called the "fern allies". The species S. moellendorffii is an important model organism. Its genome has been sequenced by the United States Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute.

How to grow it

A number of Selaginella species are popular plants for cultivation, mostly tropical species. Some of the species popularly cultivated and actively available commercially include:

S. kraussiana: golden clubmoss

Other Selaginella plants

Meadow spikemoss · Selaginella bryopteris · Lesser spikemoss · Krauss's Clubmoss · Flower of stone · Gemmiferous Spikemoss · Lesser Clubmoss · Blue spikemoss · Willdenow's spikemoss

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Selaginella 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.

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