Lycophytes: Lycopodiales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Dendrolycopodium obscurum
FAMILY
Lycopodiaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Jim Fowler's blog explains and illustrates the differences in the various Dendrolycopodium.
Learn more about Common Ground-pine from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina website.
Read about the ancient and interesting fern allies known as clubmosses from the Prince William Wildflower Society.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Lycopodium obscurum
FAMILY
Lycopodiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Dendrolycopodium obscurum
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Lycopodium obscurum
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 003-01-008a:
Lycopodium obscurum var. obscurum FAMILY Lycopodiaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Ferns of the Southeastern States (Small, 1938)
Lycopodium obscurum
COMMON NAME:
Flat-branched Tree-clubmoss, Common Ground-pine
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_lyob_001_lvd
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JK Marlow jkm110213_612
February Greenville County SC
Gateway Elementary School Nature Trail
Erect tree-like stem, branched 4-5x to form fan-like lateral branches, per Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America.
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JK Marlow jkm110213_613
February Greenville County SC
Gateway Elementary School Nature Trail
Strobili 1.5" long, 1-6 per upright branched stem, sessile, borne singly, per Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America.
)
JK Marlow jkm170224_272b
February Haywood County NC
Pisgah National Forest: Pisgah Ranger District
This plant's upright stems resemble miniature spruce trees, per Ferns of the Smokies (Evans, 2005).
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JK Marlow jkm140418_205
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
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JK Marlow jkm140418_215
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Lvs narrow, lance-shaped, w sharp-pointed tips. All point toward branch end, per Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America.
)
JK Marlow jkm160504_436
May Jackson County NC
Panthertown
Shown here next to Diphasiastrum digitatum (Lycopodium digitatum).
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JK Marlow jkm150712_449
July Pickens County SC
Table Rock State Park
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JK Marlow jkm150712_453
July Pickens County SC
Table Rock State Park
)
JK Marlow jkm181024_5343
October Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm181024_5344
October Greenville County SC
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Dendrolycopodium obscurum
FAMILY
Lycopodiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Lycopodium obscurum
FAMILY
Lycopodiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Dendrolycopodium obscurum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Lycopodium obscurum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 003-01-008a:
Lycopodium obscurum var. obscurum
FAMILY
Lycopodiaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Ferns of the Southeastern States (Small, 1938)
Lycopodium obscurum
879
Fern/Fern ally
Perennial
Habitat: Acidic forests, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Mountains (uncommon in Carolina Piedmnt) (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Evergreen
Simple - needle-like
Leaves of lateral branches 6-ranked, leaves on branch underside much smaller
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Field Guide to the Ferns and Other Pteridophytes of Georgia (Snyder & Bruce, 1986) p208
- Ferns of Alabama (Short & Spaulding, 2012) p065
- Ferns of the Smokies (Evans, 2005) p27
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p174
- Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America p290
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