76 THE LYCOPODIACE^E. 



The club-mosses are probably the best known of the 

 fern allies. During the winter holidays, great quanti- 

 ties of certain species are used in festoons, wreaths, and 

 other decorations. The steadily increasing demand for 

 such greenery is pushing several of the more decorative 

 species to the verge of extinction, since they reproduce 

 very slowly. The spores of some species form an import- 

 ant article of commerce, and, under the name of lyco- 

 podium powder, may be found in any drug store. They 

 contain more than half their bulk in oil, and, if sprinkled 

 in the flame of a candle, may be seen to ignite with a 

 flash. They have been extensively used in fireworks 

 under the names of vegetable brimstone and vegetable 

 sulphur. If sprinkled thickly over the surface of a glass 

 of water, one may plunge his finger to the bottom with- 

 out its being wetted. Their chief value to the druggist 

 is for dusting pill-boxes, to keep the pills from sticking 

 together. Various species of Lycopodium have been 

 used in dyeing, and some are emetic, but their medicinal 

 effects are too violent to entitle them to a place among 

 drugs of the present. Most species are also more or 

 less astringent. 



The word Lycopodium comes from two Latin words 

 meaning "wolf" and " foot," but the reason for its 

 application to these plants is not apparent unless it is in 

 allusion to the habit they have of growing in wild and 

 inhospitable regions where only the foot of the wolf is 

 likely to tread. 



