ii6 DECUMBENT LYCOPODIUMS. 



though but one is borne in the axil of each sporo- 

 phyll they are numerous enough to make the spike 

 the heaviest part of tlie plant. The spores are ripe 

 in late autumn. 



A larger form of this plant, with slender branching 

 stems and slightly longer leaves, has been named the 

 variety Bigclovii. According to Baker's " Fern Allies " 

 the fertile stems of this are sometimes a foot long, with 

 a spike six inches in length. It is the author's opinion, 

 however, that a form of the closely related Lycopodimn 

 alopcciiroidcs has been wrongly identified as this form. 

 He has seen no specimens of the so-called variety 

 Bigclovii '\.\'\iA. were not more properly placed elsewhere. 



In localities where the bog club-moss is undisturbed, 

 the plants frequently form " fairy rings " like those formed 

 by various fungi. The rings are due to the creeping 

 habit of the plant, which tends to carry the tips slowly 

 outward from the centre, which is left vacant by the 

 dying of the older parts. Where the progress is unob- 

 structed, the circles continue to enlarge for many years. 



The bog club-moss is a northern plant, being plentiful 

 in Labrador and Alaska, and extending southward to 

 New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Washington. It 

 is also a common-species in the north of Europe. It is 

 seldom found except in swampy ground, and is con- 

 sidered rather rare in the United States. After the 

 Carolina club-moss it is our smallest species. It is possi- 

 ble to find fruiting specimens less than two inches long. 



T'he Fox-Tail Club-Moss. 



Just as the bog club-moss begins to be rare southward, 

 another species appears which resembles it so closely 



