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Lycopodiella appressa — appressed bog-clubmoss, southern bog-clubmoss

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Facts

Appressed bog clubmoss is found in wet soils, usually on pond shores and in abandoned borrow pits along the Atlantic coastal plain and the Connecticut River Valley. It gets its name from its very reduced, leaves, that are appressed to the stem. There is a rare hybrid between this species and northern bog-clubmoss (Lycopodiella inundata) that may be found growing with appressed bog-clubmoss.

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), shores of rivers or lakes, wetland margins (edges of wetlands)

New England distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

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North America distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

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Characteristics

Habitat
  • terrestrial
  • wetlands
New England state
  • Connecticut
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont
Leaf shape
the vegetative leaves are short and scale-like
Spore leaf arrangement
the sporophylls are located on spore cones at the tips of the shoots or branches
Form of shoot
the plant has an upright stem, but no branches
Horizontal stem
the horizontal stem is on the surface of the ground
Leaf differences
the vegetative leaves within a node are all similar in size and shape
Teeth on leaf edges
  • the edges of the vegetative leaves have no teeth
  • the edges of the vegetative leaves have tiny teeth
Spore leaf length
2.9–5.2 mm
Leaf outline
  • the vegetative leaves are widest above the base, then taper narrowly towards the tip (lanceolate)
  • the vegetative leaves are long and very narrow (linear)
Show all characteristics

  • Clonal plantlets

    Gemma arrangement
    NA
    Gemma shape
    NA
    Gemma width
    0 mm

  • Leaves

    Leaf differences
    the vegetative leaves within a node are all similar in size and shape
    Leaf length
    3.3–6.5 mm
    Leaf orientation
    • the vegetative leaves are pressed against the stem
    • the vegetative leaves spread slightly away from the stem, at a steep angle
    Leaf outline
    • the vegetative leaves are widest above the base, then taper narrowly towards the tip (lanceolate)
    • the vegetative leaves are long and very narrow (linear)
    Leaf ranks
    NA
    Leaf shape
    the vegetative leaves are short and scale-like
    Spore leaf length
    2.9–5.2 mm
    Teeth on leaf edges
    • the edges of the vegetative leaves have no teeth
    • the edges of the vegetative leaves have tiny teeth

  • Place

    Habitat
    • terrestrial
    • wetlands
    New England state
    • Connecticut
    • Maine
    • Massachusetts
    • New Hampshire
    • Rhode Island
    • Vermont
    Specific habitat
    • edges of wetlands
    • man-made or disturbed habitats
    • shores of rivers or lakes

  • Spores or spore cones

    Cone base at stem
    the base of the spore-cone does not have a distinct stalk
    Cone stalk branching
    the stalks bearing the spore cones are unbranched
    Cone width
    4–6 mm
    Length of cone
    12–54 mm
    Number of cones
    1
    Quillwort itssue covering spores
    NA
    Same or different spores
    there is only one type of spore present
    Spore girdle
    NA
    Spore leaf arrangement
    the sporophylls are located on spore cones at the tips of the shoots or branches
    Spore leaf lifespan
    the sporophylls wither and fall off at the end of the growing season
    Spore leaf orientation
    the sporophylls are pressed against the spore cone
    Spore leaf shape
    the spore-bearing leaves are small and scale-like
    Spore leaf teeth
    The edges of the spore-bearing leaves are smooth, and without teeth
    Spore texture
    the spore surface has an irregular pattern of ridges and empty spaces (rugulate), or it has minute pits on it (foveolate)
    Sporophyll ranks
    the sporophylls come off the cone at many different angles (5 or more ranks)
    Sterile tip of cone
    the spore cone does not have a slender, sterile tip (the whole cone produces spores)

  • Stem, shoot, branch

    Branch cross-section
    the outermost level of branches are round, elliptic or semicircular in cross-section
    Branch form
    the main stem has no branches
    Constriction zones
    • there are no constrictions on the horizontal stem with smaller leaves
    • there are no constrictions on the vertical stem with smaller leaves
    Form of shoot
    the plant has an upright stem, but no branches
    Horizontal stem
    the horizontal stem is on the surface of the ground
    Horizontal stem length
    95–260 mm
    Horizontal stem thickness
    1.2–3.5 mm
    Stem height
    85–375 mm

Wetland status

Usually occurs in wetlands, but occasionally in non-wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: FACW)

In New England

Distribution

Connecticut
present
Maine
present
Massachusetts
present
New Hampshire
present
Rhode Island
present
Vermont
present

Conservation status

Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.

Maine
extremely rare (S-rank: S1), special concern (code: SC)
Massachusetts
fairly widespread (S-rank: S4)
New Hampshire
extremely rare (S-rank: S1), endangered (code: E)
Vermont
historical (S-rank: SH)

From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key

2.  Lycopodiella appressa (Chapman) Cranfill N

appressed bog-clubmoss. Lycopodiella bigelovii (Tuckerman) Holub; Lycopodium appressum (Chapman) Lloyd & Underwood; L. inundatum L. var. appressum Chapman; L. inundatum L. var. bigelovii Tuckerman • CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT; populations in the northern states are disjunct, most frequent along the coastal plain and in the lower Connecticut River valley. Wet, sandy and/or peaty soils, often in abandoned borrow pits and draw-down pond shore margins. Most reports of this species from ME were based on Lycopodiella ×‌gilmanii.

1×2. Lycopodiella alopecuroides × Lycopodiella appressa → Lycopodiella ×‌copelandii (Eiger) Cranfill is an extremely rare bog-clubmoss hybrid known from the coastal plain of southern New England in CT, MA. It is marked by ascending sporophylls and weakly arching horizontal stems rooting mostly 3.5–10.5 cm distal to the proximal most upright shoot. Interestingly, many of the sporophylls and trophophylls on most specimens are entire in this hybrid.

2×3. Lycopodiella appressa × Lycopodiella inundata → Lycopodiella ×‌gilmanii A. Haines is a rare bog-clubmoss hybrid that has been found nearly throughout the coastal plain of New England (rarely inland) in CT, MA, 
ME, NH, VT. It most commonly occurs with L. appressa. It is responsible for reports of 
 L. margueritae Bruce, Wagner, & Beitel in New England, a tetraploid species known 
only from the Great Lakes region. Lycopodiella ×‌gilmanii differs most notably from 
 L. appressa in its longer (mostly 5–6.2 mm), ascending sporophylls with 0–2 slender teeth per margin, and fewer upright shoots per horizontal shoot segment (commonly 1 or 2 vs. 2–5). Further, many specimens of this hybrid in New England have a large fraction of malformed spores. Rare variants of this nothospecies have appressed sporophylls until very late in the season (i.e., the sporophylls tardily spread from the strobilus axis).

Native to North America?

Yes

Sometimes confused with

Lycopodiella alopecuroides:
Sporophylls spreading, 5.5-9 mm long, and horizontal shoots arching (vs. L. appressa, with sporophylls appressed, mostly 2.9-5 mm long, and horizontal shoots prostrate).

Synonyms

  • Lycopodiella bigelovii (Tuckerman) Holub
  • Lycopodium appressum (Chapman) Lloyd & Underwood
  • Lycopodium inundatum L. var. appressum Chapman
  • Lycopodium inundatum var. bigelovii Tuckerman

Family

Lycopodiaceae

Genus

Lycopodiella