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Clubmoss family (Lycopodiaceae)
Long-lived evergreen herbaceous plant with main stem up to 1 m in length, prostrate and rooted, with forked branching. Side stems erect, of heights 10-30 cm, with dense foliage, topped off by single cylindrical and sessile spore-bearing spike, up to 4 cm long. Leaves dark green, lanceolate, with toothed margin in upper part, and pointed at the tip, standing out at right angles. Produces spores in the Jul.-Sep. period.
Grows on mesic to wet soils, nutrient-poor or moderately fertile. Associated with different coniferous forest communities. Stems POISONOUS. Spores have medicinal properties. Subject to Partial Protection.
Descriptions devised by the team at the Independent Department of Forest Botany, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, i.e. L. Witkowska-Żuk, K. Marciszewska, W. Ciurzycki, A. Obidziński and P. Zaniewski.
