Selaginella eclipes — hidden spikemoss
![Branches: Selaginella eclipes. ~ By The Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. ~ Copyright © 2024 The Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. ~ cniezgoda[at]fieldmuseum.org ~ Field Museum of Natural History - Chicago](https://newfs.s3.amazonaws.com/taxon-images-1000s1000/Selaginellaceae/selaginella-eclipes-br-fmnh1.jpg)
![Shoots: Selaginella eclipes. ~ By The Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. ~ Copyright © 2024 The Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. ~ cniezgoda[at]fieldmuseum.org ~ Field Museum of Natural History - Chicago](https://newfs.s3.amazonaws.com/taxon-images-1000s1000/Selaginellaceae/selaginella-eclipes-sh-fmnh1.jpg)
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Facts
Hidden spikemoss is distributed from the Midwest through northwestern New York and into eastern Ontario and Quebec. It is very rare in New England, being found in a few sites in western Connecticut and one historical record in western Massachusetts. It prefers moist to wet sites on calcareous soils.
Habitat
Meadows and fields, swamps
New England distribution
Adapted from BONAP data
Native: indigenous.
Non-native: introduced (intentionally or unintentionally); has become naturalized.
County documented: documented to exist in the county by evidence (herbarium specimen, photograph). Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
State documented: documented to exist in the state, but not documented to a county within the state. Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
Note: when native and non-native populations both exist in a county, only native status is shown on the map.
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enlargeCharacteristics
- Habitat
-
- terrestrial
- wetlands
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Massachusetts
- 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
- NA
- Horizontal stem
- the horizontal stem is on the surface of the ground
- Leaf differences
- the vegetative leaves within a node differ in size and shape
- Teeth on leaf edges
- the edges of the vegetative leaves have tiny teeth
- Leaf outline
-
- the vegetative leaves are widest above the base, then taper narrowly towards the tip (lanceolate)
- the vegetative leaves are widest above the base, then broadly tapering towards the tip (ovate)
-
Clonal plantlets
- Gemma arrangement
- NA
- Gemma shape
- NA
- Gemma width
- 0 mm
-
Leaves
- Leaf differences
- the vegetative leaves within a node differ in size and shape
- Leaf length
- 1–2 mm
- Leaf orientation
- the vegetative leaves spread away from the stem
- Leaf outline
-
- the vegetative leaves are widest above the base, then taper narrowly towards the tip (lanceolate)
- the vegetative leaves are widest above the base, then broadly tapering towards the tip (ovate)
- Leaf ranks
- 4
- Leaf shape
- the vegetative leaves are short and scale-like
- Pores on leaves
- there are pores on both sides of the vegetative leaves
- Teeth on leaf edges
- the edges of the vegetative leaves have tiny teeth
-
Place
- Habitat
-
- terrestrial
- wetlands
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Massachusetts
- Specific habitat
-
- meadows or fields
- swamps
-
Spores or spore cones
- Cone base at stem
- the base of the spore-cone does not have a distinct stalk
- Cone stalk branching
- NA
- Cone thickness
- 0 mm
- Length of cone
- 10–40 mm
- Number of cones
- 1
- Quillwort itssue covering spores
- NA
- Same or different spores
- there are two different types of spores present
- Spore diameter
- 0.33–0.4
- 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 shape
- the spore-bearing leaves are small and scale-like
- Spore leaf teeth
- the edges of the spore-bearing leaves have tiny teeth
- Spore texture
- the spore surface has a net-like pattern on it (reticulate)
- Sporophyll ranks
- the sporophylls line up to form an X (4 ranks of leaves)
- 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
- NA
- Branch form
- NA
- Constriction zones
-
- NA
- NA
- Form of shoot
- NA
- Horizontal stem
- the horizontal stem is on the surface of the ground
- Horizontal stem length
- anything
- Horizontal stem thickness
- 0.2–0.4 mm
- Stem height
- 0 mm
Wetland status
Usually occurs in wetlands, but occasionally in non-wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: FACW)
In New England
Distribution
- Connecticut
- present
- Maine
- absent
- Massachusetts
- present
- New Hampshire
- absent
- Rhode Island
- absent
- Vermont
- absent
Conservation status
Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.
- Connecticut
- unrankable (S-rank: SU)
- Massachusetts
- historical (S-rank: SH), H (code: H)
- Vermont
- extremely rare (uncertain) (S-rank: S1?)
From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key
2. Selaginella eclipes W.R. Buck NC
hidden spikemoss. CT, MA; western counties only. Mesic to hydric meadows and swamps, rarely on rock, habitat usually influenced by high-pH bedrock.
Native to North America?
Yes
Sometimes confused with
- Selaginella apoda:
- median trophophylls acute to acuminate at apex, rarely attenuate and then often apically keeled and the vein not reaching tip, and megaspores mostly 0.29–0.35 mm in diameter, closely reticulate, dull (vs. S. eclipse, with the median trophophylls with a long-attenuate, often recurved, apex, not keeled, the vein prolonged into the tip, and megaspores 0.33–0.4 mm in diameter, more loosely reticulate, shiny).