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Lycopodium clavatum

Common name:	Common Club Moss	Family:	Lycopodiaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	The plant contains lycopodine, which is poisonous by paralysing the motor nerves[21, 218]. It also contains clavatine which is toxic to many mammals[218]. The spores, however, are not toxic[21].
Range:	Arctic and N. temperate zone, including Britain, south to Spain, Toumania and the Caucasus.
Habitat:	Moorland, fields and pastures[7], it is rare in lowland areas[17].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	3

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	L. clavatum var. laurentianum[B,P] L. clavatum var. subremotum[B,P] L. clavatum var. tristachyum[B,P] Muscus clavatum[H] Muscus terrestris[H]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Common Club Moss [H], Grote Wolfsklauw [D], Kurtpencesi [E], Licopodio [E], Lycopode [E], Musco Clavato [E], Running Clubmoss [P], Running Ground-pine [B,L], Stag's-Horn Clubmoss [MS], Stags-horn Clubmoss [L], Vegetable Sulphur [H], Wolf's Claw [H],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	clavatum = club shaped;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Lycopodiales. Club-moss family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	France; Italy; Lesotho; Spain; Turkey; Us

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen fern growing to 0.1m by 1m . . It is in leaf all year. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 3/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) or semi-shade (light woodland). It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Deep Shade.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Analgesic; Antipruritic; Antirheumatic; Carminative; Decongestant; Diuretic; Haemostatic; Homeopathy; Skin; Tonic.

A decoction of the plant is analgesic, antirheumatic, carminative, mildly diuretic, stomachic and tonic[4, 9, 13, 21, 46, 154, 172, 176, 218, 238]. It is used internally in the treatment of urinary and kidney disorders, rheumatic arthritis, catarrhal cystitis, gastritis etc[176, 238]. It is applied externally to skin diseases and irritations[238]. The plant can be harvested all year round and is used fresh or dried[238].
The spores of this plant are antipruritic, decongestant, diuretic and stomachic[4]. They are applied externally as a dusting powder to various skin diseases, to wounds or inhaled to stop bleeding noses[4, 7]. They can also be used to absorb fluids from injured tissues[213, 218]. The spores are harvested when ripe in late summer[9].
The spores can also be used as a dusting powder to prevent pills sticking together[4, 213].
A homeopathic remedy is made from the spores[232]. It has a wide range of applications including dry coughs, mumps and rheumatic pains[232, 238].

We have a more details factsheet on the history and medicinal use of this plant. Email webmaster@pfaf.org for details.

Other Uses

Cosmetic; Miscellany; Mordant; Weaving.

The spores are water repellent and can be used as a dusting powder to stop things sticking together[106, 171]. They are also used as a talcum powder and for dressing moulds in iron foundries[74]. They can also be used as explosives in fireworks and for artificial lightning[7, 46, 57, 102, 171, 213].
The plant can be used as a mordant in dyeing[172].
The stems are made into matting[46].

Cultivation details

Thrives in a rough spongy peat in a shady position[1]. Requires a humid atmosphere[200].
Terrestrial members of this genus are hard to establish. The roots are delicate and liable to rot, most water being absorbed through the foliage[200].
This species is said to be a native of Britain according to [17], but is a tropical plant according to [200]. Another report says that it is hardy to at least -15°c[238].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer[233].
Although looking more like a moss, this genus is closely related to the ferns[200].

Propagation

Spores - best sown as soon as they are ripe on the surface of a humus-rich sterilized soil. Keep the compost moist, preferably by putting a plastic bag over the pot. Pot on small clumps of plantlets as soon as they are large enough to handle and keep humid until they are well established. Do not plant outside until the ferns are at least 2 years old and then only in a very well sheltered position. The spores are generally produced in abundance but are difficult to grow successfully[200].
Layering of growing tips[200].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[L] Scientific and Common Names (some photos) from Lepidoptera and some other life forms
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[S] Illustration from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for lycopodium clavatum (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.

[13] Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn 1975 ISBN 0-600-33545-3
Very interesting reading, giving some details of plant uses and quite a lot of folk-lore.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[57] Schery. R. W. Plants for Man.
Fairly readable but not very comprehensive. Deals with plants from around the world.

[74] Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968
An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers.

[102] Kavasch. B. Native Harvests. Vintage Books 1979 ISBN 0-394-72811-4
Another guide to the wild foods of America.

[106] Coon. N. The Dictionary of Useful Plants. Rodale Press 1975 ISBN 0-87857-090-x
Interesting reading but short on detail.

[154] Ewart. A. J. Flora of Victoria.
A flora of eastern Australia, it is rather short on information that is useful to the plant project.

[171] Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952
Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.

[172] Schofield. J. J. Discovering Wild Plants - Alaska, W. Canada and the Northwest.
A nice guide to some useful plants in that area.

[176] Yeung. Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. Institute of Chinese Medicine, Los Angeles 1985
A very good Chinese herbal.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[232] Castro. M. The Complete Homeopathy Handbook. Macmillan. London. 1990 ISBN 0-333-55581-3
A concise beginner's guide to the subject. Very readable.

[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

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Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.