THE TRAILING LYCOPODIUMS. 87 



The leaves are about a quarter of an inch long, some- 

 what firmer than those of Lycopodium clavatum, and are 

 arranged on stem and branches in from five to eight 

 rows. They are narrowly lanceolate with toothed mar- 

 gins, and end in an acute point without a bristle. At 

 the ends of the branches the tips of the leaves point up- 

 ward, but below this they are more spreading. As the 

 new season's growth springs from the midst of the erect 

 leaves, there are, in consequence, alternating zones on 

 the branches in which the leaves are spreading or 

 appressecl, each appressed zone marking the ending of 

 one season's growth and the beginning of another. From 

 this circumstance the plant is called the " interrupted 

 club-moss" in the Old World. The zones are most notice- 

 able in specimens growing in exposed places. Accord- 

 ing to Moore's " British Ferns," old branches, after 

 fruiting, bend over, take root, and start new rootstocks, 

 but there appears to be need for further observation on 

 this point before the statement is accepted. 



The chief distinguishing feature of this species is found 

 in the strobiles or fruit-cones. They are half an inch to 

 an inch or more long, about one fourth as wide, and are 

 borne singly on the tips of the branches with no sign of 

 the peduncle so noticeable in Lycopodium clavatum. 

 They are, as usual, made up of a great many small, 

 closely assembled sporophylls, yellow in colour when 

 ripe, and broadly heart-shaped with an irregular margin 

 and slender tip. Each subtends a kidney-shaped spore- 

 case filled with pale yellow spores which are ripe in late 

 August or September. 



In the far North, and on mountain tops in milder re- 

 gions, there is a form of this species called variety pungens. 

 It is characterized by its thicker, shorter, sharper leaves 



