THE TRAILING LYCOPODIUMS. 101 



broadly heart- shaped, with a slender tip, and closely 

 overlap. Occasionally the spikes are prolonged into 

 leafy branches above, showing unmistakably the rela- 

 tionship of spikes of fruit to the ordinary branches. 

 The spores are ripe about September, though many 

 ripen later. 



Lycopodium obscurum ranges from Newfoundland to 

 North Carolina, Tennessee, Minnesota, and Montana. 

 It is found in southern Canada and extends northward 

 along the Pacific to Alaska. It prefers moist, shady 

 woods, and is one of the common species of the 

 Eastern States. None of our other species resemble 

 it very closely, which makes it a plant easy to identify. 

 This is another of the species used for holiday decora- 

 tions and is known as " bunch evergreen " or " crowfoot." 



The Stag-Horn Club-Moss. 



Nearly all the club-mosses in our flora are lovers of 

 the north, and become rare as soon as warmer regions 

 are reached. This probably accounts for the fact that 

 the great State of California has not a single species of 

 Lycopodium within its borders. The Gulf States fare 

 somewhat better, though their species are not of north- 

 ern origin, but instead are northward extensions of 

 tropical species. 



The rarest of the tropical club-mosses within our 

 boundaries is the stag-horn club-moss (Lycopodium cer- 

 nuum), which barely reaches the southern parts of Missis- 

 sippi, Alabama, and Georgia, but is more frequent in 

 Florida. In general habit it is like the tree club-moss 

 except that the rootstock or main stem is seldom subter- 



