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Lycopodium serratum

Common name:	Club Moss	Family:	Lycopodiaceae
Author:	Thunb.	Botanical references:
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:	E. Asia - China.
Habitat:	Not known
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Huperzia selago ssp. serrata[B,P] Huperzia serrata var. serrata[B,P] Urostachys serratus[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Toothed Clubmoss [P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	serra = toothed serratum = saw toothed
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Lycopodiales. Club-moss family

Physical Characteristics

Fern growing to 0.1m. . We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 2/5 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

Antispasmodic Diuretic Women's complaints.

A decoction of the plant is antispasmodic and diuretic, it is also used in the treatment of irregular menstruation[218].
The spores of this plant are dusted on wounds or inhaled to stop bleeding noses. They can also be used to absorb fluids from injured tissues[213, 218].
The spores can be used as a dusting powder to prevent pills sticking together[213].

Other Uses

Miscellany Mordant Weaving.

The following uses are for L. clavatum. They quite possibly also apply to this species[K].

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[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

We have very little cultivation information on this species and do not know if it will succeed outdoors in Britain. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus.
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

[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Huperzia serrata var. serrata (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.
[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

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[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]).

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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 lucidulum, Lycopodium selago.

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