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Lycopodium lucidulum

Common name:	Shining Club Moss	Family:	Lycopodiaceae
Author:	Michx.	Botanical references:	43, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	Although no records of toxicity have been seen for this species, a number of other members of this genus are said to be toxic and so some caution is advised.
Range:	N. America - Newfoundland to British Columbia, south to South Carolina, Iowa and Tennessee.
Habitat:	Cool woods from Newfoundland to Ontario and southwards.
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Huperzia lucidula[B,P] Huperzia selago ssp. lucidula[B] L. reflexum[B,P] Urostachys lucidulus[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Shining Club-moss [B], Shining Clubmoss [P],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Lycopodiales. Club-moss family

Physical Characteristics

Fern growing to 0.15m. It is hardy to zone 5. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 0/5 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

Leaves.

The plant is edible[161, 177].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Mordant.

The plant can be used as a mordant in dyeing[172].

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].
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

[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Huperzia lucidula (a possible synonym).

[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.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

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]).

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[161] Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture.
A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not for the casual reader.

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

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[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.

[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.

Readers Comments

Lycopodium serratum

Rick Harig (rharig@razorlogic.com) Wed, 04 Nov 1998 16:47:45

Mr. Morris,

I have been doing research on this topic, Huperzia serrata, at least a component, of this club moss. You may be interested in checking on further medicinal properties of Huperzine A.. It is being investigated as a memory enhancer and a possible treatment for Alzheimer's disease. I'm not sure of the requirements you have in listing properties of plants but you may wish to check it out. I came across your page through a biochem link and was in search of a picture for my senior seminar on Huperzine A. Nobody seems to have much info on the topic, but thanks for the info your page provided.

thanks again, Rick Harig

Cross references: Plants: Huperzia selago, Lycopodium selago, Lycopodium serratum.

Main Search Page Help 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
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Lycopodium+lucidulum
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Lycopodium+lucidulum

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