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Selaginella apoda
Also called Creeping Spikemoss
Meadow spikemoss is a small creeping lycophyte, not a true moss, that forms low mats in damp, shaded ground. It needs consistently moist soil and shade to grow well.
Selaginella apoda, commonly known as meadow spikemoss, is a perennial lycophyte native to much of the eastern United States and parts of northeastern Mexico. The life cycle is the shortest of the genus Selaginella, as well as one of the shortest among the lycophytes. Selaginella apoda is found primarily in damp soils in habitats such as swamps, wet fields, open woods and along stream banks. Selaginella apoda presents the potential for case studies involving the plant's adaptability to environmental toxins. It is closely related to Selaginella eclipes and S. ludoviciana, with both of which it has been reported to form hybrids. This group is characterized by relatively flat strobili and large megasporophylls which occur in the same plane as the lateral leaves.
The plant was originally described, and named Lycopodium apodum by Carl Linnaeus in his Species Plantarum (1753).
Due to S. apoda's simple requirements, as well as its life cycle being so short in comparison to other Selaginella species, the plant is considered a model species suitable for related scientific studies.
Minus Antarctica, Selaginella species can be found scattered across the world's continents. Selaginella apoda occurs naturally in the Midwestern and Eastern states of the United States. In the Americas, S. apoda can be found as far north as the U.S. state of Maine to as far south as Guatemala.
Selaginella bryopteris · Lesser spikemoss · Krauss's Clubmoss · Flower of stone · Gemmiferous Spikemoss · Lesser Clubmoss · Blue spikemoss · Willdenow's spikemoss · Spikemoss
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Selaginella apoda 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.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
