The dark and shady facts about Ground Pine
(Lycopodium obscurum)

The words Lycopodium, from the Greek, lukos (lukos) "wolf", and podos (podos) "foot"; "wolf's foot", a reference to the resemblance of the branch tips to a wolf's paw, and obscurum, from the Latin, "dark, shady, obscured."

Called a ground pine, because of the resemblance its vertical stem has to a miniature pine tree. Other common names include Rare Clubmoss, Tree Clubmoss, Round Branched Clubmoss. It's an evergreen, rhizomatous clubmoss with the appearance of a tiny, thickly branched pine tree with oversized cones and reaches a height to 12-inches. Its horizontal stem creeps and branchs well below the ground. Its vertical stem grows as individual little trees. Branches range from 1"- 8" and its leaves are ¼" long and shiny green. Cones are cylindrical, yellow, 1½", on tips of upper branches; a dozen or more on a single branch.

Distinguished from running clubmosses by its individual, bushy form and deeply buried horizontal stem and distinguished from other trees like clubmosses by round branches rather than flattened and cedar like.

Considered an indicator of cool temperature climates, fresh and very moist soils, nitrogen-poor soils, and compacted forest floors, it is found in damp, open woods, forest bog edges and in moist forest floors, often with maple-basswood or mixed pine-hardwoods.

Ground pine will tolerate low nutrients and can withstand a wide range of light conditions. It is considered a mid-seral species, as it occurs in forest stands 10 to 30 years old but will decline in very old stands. In general, if temperatures become warmer and the forest becomes drier, this species would be expected to decrease.

Today's photo provided by John M. Karian, who is a WPC member and does nature photography in Venango County.

E-mail Today's WPC Daily to a Friend!

Become a Western Pennsylvania Conservancy Member

 The votes are in: (and so is September's Screen Wallpaper Calendar) View the winning WPC Daily

 Review and vote for the best of August