THE TRAILING LYCOPODIUMS. 95 



to remain green. Among the majority of botanists it 

 is customary to call this peduncle a branchlet, and 

 this species is therefore described as having sessile 

 spikes, but these spikes are not sessile in the sense that 

 those of Lycopodium annotinum are. In the other species 

 it is evident that the peduncles are transformed branches, 

 and since the branchlets that bear the spikes in this 

 species differ in a few slight particulars from those that 

 bear only foliage leaves, it is as reasonable to call them 

 peduncles as branches. 



In the Old World this species is sometimes known as 

 " heath cypress." It was once used in dyeing woollen 

 goods a pale yellow, the process being simply to boil 

 the goods in water with the plant and some leaves of 

 the bog whortleberry. 



Lycopodium alpimun as now understood ranges from 

 British Columbia to the Arctic Circle, being common in 

 Alaska and Greenland. It is also found in the North 

 Temperate Zone of the Old World, extending southward 

 into the more elevated portions of Germany, Switzer- 

 land, and Spain. It delights in the open spots in moun- 

 tainous country, but in the colder parts of its range may 

 be found on grassy moors near sea-level. 



The Savin- Leaved Club-Moss. 



The several forms or species of Lycopodium growing in 

 the northern part of North America have given botanists 

 no end of trouble in working out their proper relation- 

 ships. They are all more or less like Lycopodium com- 

 planatum, and it was once the custom of students to 

 refer them all to this species, just as the novice would 

 be inclined to do at present. It was less than ten years 



