As the leaves drop from the trees and shrubs and the ferns and other herbaceous plants die back, clubmosses, small evergreen plants that were always there, but perhaps overshadowed, become more visible in the forest. These plants, although they produce spores as ferns do, are not ferns. They are related, but are in fact in a class of their own—Lycophyta. Clubmosses are ancient plants that existed long before the dinosaurs roamed the earth, but were tree-sized at that time. They are called clubmosses because of their club-shaped fertile stalk that bears its spores. Spores have properties that repel water, so have been used in the past as powder for infants or to protect wounds. Clubmosses produce alkaloid chemicals that cause them to taste bad, so they may be one of the few things that deer won’t eat!
Thanks to Lynn Knight and Susan Hayward for the reminder that it takes 20 years for these plants to develop from a spore to a mature plant. The club moss shown here, also known as princess pine, has become rare in some areas due to overharvesting.
(Submitted by Lynn Knight. November 10, 2022)
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