LYCOPODIUMS. 



381 



fugacious species, which | 

 spring up after the rainy 

 seasons in tropical coun- 

 tries, ana are mostly of 

 only annual duration. 

 Colour a bright green. 

 Tropical America and 

 West Indie-. 



S. Braunii— one of the few 

 Umbrose kinds that thrive 

 in a sub-tropical tempera- 

 ture. It is remarkable 

 for the greyish hue of its 

 foliage and is often known 

 as S. pubescens. The 

 stems are erect, about 

 one and a half feet long, 

 freely branched on the 

 upper portion. It forms 

 a handsome specimen 

 when grown in a large 

 pan. China. 



S. brevicaulis forms a dense 

 tuft of very short freely 

 branched stems, which 

 interlace and look like a 

 patch of Moss- It is a 

 useful species for clothing 

 bare soil or growing as a 

 carpet on a stage. Cuba. 



S. delicatissima is another 

 of the dense, tufted spe- 

 cies, aod may be grown in 

 summer in an ordinary 

 green-house, but owing to 

 the curling effect a dry 

 atmosphere has upon its 

 tips, it should be placed 

 in a sheltered, moist 

 corner, where it will grow 

 rapidly and form a bright 

 green carpet over the sur- 

 face of the soil. Country 

 not known. 



S. distorta— a dwarf, dense, 

 Mossy-looking plant, its 

 slender trailing stems 

 matting together and 

 forming a beautiful carpet 

 of bright green. Brazil. 



S. Douglasii — a smalltrailing 

 species, with the habit 

 and appearance of S. ser- 

 pens, but paier green in 

 colour. A native of the 

 warmer parts of North 

 America, and said to be 

 plentiful about Washing- 

 ton, which seems to sug- 

 gest cool treatment for 

 this species ; it does not, 

 however, grow as satisfac- 

 torily in a cool as in a 

 warm house. 



S. Griffithii— a member of 

 the Umbrose group,which 

 have erect stalk-like 

 stems, bearing upon their 

 summit a spreading, more 

 or less triangular frond. 

 Svns., S. brevipes and S. 



virescens. Mountains of 

 Mergui. 

 S. lepidophylla is the " Ke- 

 surr ection C lub - moss ' ' 

 which is frequently ex- 

 posed for sale as a vege- 

 table wonder, owing to 

 tne manner in which its 

 curled-up fronds unroll 

 and resume a fresh ap- 

 pearance when placed in 

 water. Generally the 

 plants offered for sale in 

 England are dried up past 

 recovery, but the eff ect of 

 water upon their dried 

 leaves is the same as when 

 they have life in them. 

 When kept in a moist 

 atmosphere the plants 

 spread their flat green 

 fronds over the surface of 

 the soil, and form very 

 pretty little star-shaped, 

 masses of a pale green 

 colour. 



S. Martensii is one of the 

 best known and most ac- 

 commodating " Mosses," 

 as it seems to thrive al- 

 most equally well in a 

 stove or in a cool house. 

 There are numerous va- 

 rieties of it in cultivation, 

 one or two of them being 

 variegated forms ; the 

 most distinct are divari- 

 cata, formosa, ascendens, 

 stolonifera, and the varie- 

 gated robusta. Mexico. 



S. rubella is not unlike one 

 of the forms of S. Mar- 

 tensii, but is at once dis- 

 tinguished by its reddish 

 stems and dull green 

 leaves. The stems are a 

 foot long, semi -erect, 

 copiously rooted, and 

 bearing bronzy -green 

 leaves, which become 

 almost red when old, if 

 grown in a light position. 

 Native country unknown. 



S. unciData — this is the 

 proper name for the blue- 

 tinted species known in 

 gardens as S. caesium. It 

 belongs to the trailing 

 Plumose group, and has 

 slender yellowish stems 

 and bright blue-green 

 foliage. It may be grown 

 either in pans, or sus- 

 pended in baskets from 

 the roof ; in the latter 

 position it has a charming 

 appearance, owing to the 

 curious effect produced 

 by the light when falling 

 obliquely upon the bluish, 

 shell-like leaves. China. 



S. apus, better known as S. 

 densa, or S. apoda, is a 

 most useful little decora- 

 tive plant, and is largely 

 grown about London, its 

 turf-like, bright, healthy 

 green being useful in 

 numerous ways for table 

 and window decoration. 

 Probably an annual. 

 Canada and the United 

 States. 



S. denticulata— this is very 

 different from what is 

 known in gardens by this 

 name. It is a robust little 

 trailer, running about and 

 clinging to stones, or pots, 

 in the most persistent 

 way. It must be grown 

 in a moist shaded place, 

 or it will not thrive. In 

 the autumn the leaves 

 assume a reddish tint. 

 Southern Europe and re- 

 gion of the Mediterranean. 



S.Helvetica — a small trailer, 

 very similar to S. denti- 

 culata, but not quite as 

 pretty a green, and re- 

 quiring a warmer position 

 than suits that species. 

 Central Europe to Japan. 



S. Kraussiana, popularly 

 known as Lycopodium 

 denticulatum, grows in 



almost any position, ask- 

 ing only for a little water 

 to keep its roots moist. 

 The variety aurea is dis- 

 tinct and pretty, as also 

 is the white-tipped form, 

 and the small variety 

 known as S. Brownii. 

 Cape, and other tempe- 

 rate parts of the African 

 continent. 



S. Ludoviciana — a small, 

 tufted, carpeting species, 

 with the branches very 

 closely arranged, and 

 forming thick tufts of 

 dark green ; it is closely 

 allied to S. apus. Alabama 

 and Louisiana. 



S. pilifera is very similar to 

 I S. lepidophylla, described 

 under the Sub-tropical 

 Species, differing only in 

 the scale-leaves being 

 bristle-pointed, those of 

 the latter being obtuse at 

 the points. Mexico. 



S. rupestris is interesting 

 chiefly for its being dis- 

 tributed over the north 

 and south temperate 

 zones of both the Old and 

 New Worlds. It forms a 

 tuft of rather long strag- 

 gling stems, covered with 

 pale green scale-leaves. 



The following species are useful for furnishing 

 baskets — viz., S. euspidata, Galeotii, jlexuosa,uncinata, 

 rubricaulis, radicata, rubella. For carpeting hare 

 spaces in conservatories, or upon stages, or wherever 

 a Moss-like growth is wanted, the following are 

 specially adapted — viz., 8. albonitens, apus, brevi- 

 caulis, delicatissima, distorta, Kraussiana, patula, 

 serpens, uncinata. 



LYCOPODIUMS. 



By G. S. Jenman, F.L.S. 



I" YCOPODITJM is a genus of more or less her- 

 J haceous perennial plants, most closely allied to 

 Selaginella, with which it is generally associated, 

 these and two or three smaller genera forming 

 the natural order Lycopodiaccee. Lycopodiums, as 

 distinguished from Selaginellas, are the true Club- 

 mosses— a popular term derived from the form of 

 the fertile branches in some of the species. Great 

 interest attaches to these plants as being the repre- 

 sentatives, in the present flora of the world, puny 

 though they be compared to their giant ancestors, 

 of the vegetation which chiefly formed the coal 

 deposits, to which is so largely due the wealth of 

 England, and much of the prosperity and advanced 

 civilisation of the world. 



The distribution of the genus extends from the 

 north temperate to the south temperate zone, but it 

 is aggregated chiefly in the equatorial belt, both 



Cool-house Species. 



These may be grown anywhere where frost is 

 excluded, and where moisture and a little shade 

 from the summer sunshine can be afforded them. In 

 the warmer parts of England some of these cool 

 species are grown out of doors during summer, and 

 one of them — viz., the common Kraussiana {denticu- 

 lata) — is often used for carpet-bedding. 



