Clubmosses and their Relatives 



upland moors and mountains, though they are occasion- 

 ally to be found at much lower levels. 



The best known and commonest clubmoss is Lycopo- 

 dium clavatum, the Stag's Horn Moss, Common 

 Clubmoss, Wolf's Claw, etc. Unless in autumn when 

 the fruiting spikes, cones, or clubs appear, it is by no 

 means easy to locate this plant, and thus it often 

 escapes notice, though it is by no means rare. It has long, 

 strong, creeping and branching stems, densely clothed 

 all round with small, overlapping, and lanceolate leaves, 

 ending in fine hairlike points. This hairlike point at 

 the end of the leaf is alone sufficient to distinguish 

 Lycopodium clavatum from the other species. At 

 intervals the creeping stems are fastened to the ground 

 by strong roots, and in late autumn slender upright 

 branches appear, at the tops of which the cones or clubs 

 develop. These cones are composed of leaflike bracts, 

 at the bases of which are the capsules, one to each bract. 

 When the spores are discharged, the bracts wither and 

 drop off, although the main stem remains green during 

 winter unless in the most exposed situations. 



Rustics often adorn their persons and their houses 

 with the Common Clubmoss, and in Sweden mats have 

 been woven from the stems. 



The specific name of this clubmoss is derived from 

 the Latin clava, "a club." The reference is to the 

 cone, or club, bearing the spores. 



The Fir Clubmoss, Lycopodium Selago, is almost as 

 well known as the Common Clubmoss, and it is very 

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