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Huperzia lucidula

Huperzia lucidula (*)

Cladus: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Subdivisio: Lycopodiophyta
Classis: Lycopodiopsida
Order: Lycopodiales
Familia: Lycopodiaceae
Genus: Huperzia
Species: Huperzia lucidula

Name

Huperzia lucidula (Michx.) Trevisan

References

USDA, NRCS. 2006. The PLANTS Database, 6 March 2006 (http://plants.usda.gov). Data compiled from various sources by Mark W. Skinner. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

Vernacular names
English: Shining Club Moss, Shining Firmoss

Huperzia lucidula, shining firmoss or shining clubmoss, is a bright evergreen, rhizomatous clubmoss of the genus Huperzia.

They grow in loose tufts 14-20 cm long, occasionally up to 1 m long. The leaves are 7-11 mm long (shorter, 3-6 mm, at annual nodes), narrow, lance-shaped, shiny, and evergreen. The edges are irregularly toothed. The sporangia (spore cases) are nestled in the bases of the upper leaves.

The roots of this plant grow from a creeping, branching, underground rhizome.

The Shining firmoss ranges in Canada from Manitoba to Newfoundland, and south into the United States to Missouri and the Carolinas. Its habitat includes rich, acid soils in cool, moist coniferous and mixed hardwood forests, bog and stream edges, and hillsides. They occasionally grow on cliffs and ledges and on shady, mossy, acidic sandstone.

The specific name lucidula comes from the Latin and means "shining". This is in reference to the plants bright, vivid green color.

References

Flora of North America - Huperzia lucidula RangeMap:
Huperzia lucidula - Shining Clubmoss

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Source: Wikipedia, Wikispecies: All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License