Huperzia appressa (Desv.) Á. Löve & D. Löve - Mountain Firmoss


 

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Huperzia appressa - (image 1 of 5)

 

Taxonomy

Family: Lycopodiaceae

 

Habitat

Rocky ledges, ridges, outcrops in alpine areas.

Associates

 

Distribution

Along coast of Atlantic Ocean and Lake Superior, Greenland, Northeast Canada, New England, MI, MN, NY and in NC, SC, TN, VA.

Morphology

Shoots erect, determinate, 6-10 cm. Leaves narrowly triangular, those near the base relatively large (4-6 mm), ascending to spreading; leaves near the tip relatively small (2-3.5 mm), ascending to appressed. Sporangia borne along the stems in pouch-like structures in the axils of leaves.

Notes

Produces spores from early June to early September.

Wetland indicator: NA

This species differs from other club mosses in that the spores are not in terminal cones but borne along the stem. This species also produces gemmae on branchlets that can detach from the stem and form new plants.   

References

Haines, A. 2011. Flora Novae Angliae: a manual for the identification of native and naturalized higher vascular plants of New England. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT.

 

Wagner, W.H. Jr. and Beitel, J.M. 1993. Lycopodiaceae. In: Flora of North America North of Mexico, Vol. 2.

Oxford University Press, New York and Oxford.

 


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 Michael Hough © 2018