Bristly clubmoss

Like many northern species, bristly clubmoss ( Lycopodium annotinum ) ranges much further south in the mountains than it does at lower elevations. This species is reasonably common in acidic forests in northern Pennsylvania, and in the Allegheny Mountains, but is rarely encountered elsewhere in the southern half of the state, though it ranges south to the Smokey Mountains. WPC's Clinton Piper took this photo while hiking to Wolf Rocks at Laurel Summit State Park.

In the lower right corner of the photo, you can see a strobilus (or cone), which has shed its spores. The presence of this structure distinguishes this species from shining clubmoss ( Huperzia lucidula ), with which it is often confused. In shining clubmoss the sporangia are borne in the axils of only slightly modified stem leaves, rather than in the axils of the highly modified leaves of a strobilus. Clubmosses are pteridophytes, a group of spore-bearing plants that includes the ferns, clubmosses, spikemosses, horsetails, and quillworts.

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