Lycopodium clavatum  

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Description:

Horizontal stems on substrate surface. Upright shoots clustered, 0.6--1.2 cm diam., dominant main shoot with 3--6 branches mostly in lower 1/2. Lateral branchlets few and like upright shoots; annual bud constrictions abrupt, branchlets mostly spreading. Leaves spreading, often somewhat ascending in distal 1/3 of branches, medium green, linear, 4--6 X 0.4--0.8 mm; margins entire; apex with narrow hair tip 2.5--4 mm. Peduncles 3.5--12.5 cm, with remote pseudowhorls of appressed leaves, loosely branched into 2--5 alternate stalks, 0.5--0.8 cm. Strobili 2--5 on alternate stalks (if double, usually with stalks 5--8 mm), 15--25 X 3--6 mm. Sporophylls 1.5--2.5 mm, apex abruptly reduced to hair tip. 2 n = 68.

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Commercial uses:

Lycopodium Powder
The minute spores of Lycopodium clavatum and closely related species are harvested from the cones and sold as Lycopodium Powder. The spores are flammable due to the high proportion of oil that they contain forming an explosive mixture with air. The oil also makes them resistant to wetting and gives them emollient properties.Lycopodium Powder has a wide range of uses:

  • as an explosive mixture with air to spectacular effect in the film and entertainment industries.
  • as a fine dusting on condoms and surgical gloves to lubricate the latex.
  • as powder in cosmetics
  • as pill coating in the pharmaceutical industry
  • as a dry parting compound in foundry work to prevent metal from sticking to wooden molds
  • the spores are also used in homeopathic medicine to treat a variety of ailments

Exposure to Lycopodium spores may cause allergic reactions ranging from mild dermatitis to severe asthma.

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Rights holder/AuthorNatural History Museum
SourceNo source database.

Synonym:

Lycopodium clavatum var. subremotum Victorin

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Rights holder/AuthoreFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden
Sourcehttp://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=200002751

Lycopodium clavatum:

Lycopodium clavatum (wolf's-foot clubmoss, stag's-horn clubmoss, or ground pine[1]) is the most widespread species in the genus Lycopodium of the clubmoss family Lycopodiaceae.

It is a spore-bearing vascular plant, growing mainly prostrate along the ground with stems up to 1 m long; the stems are much branched, and densely clothed with small, spirally arranged leaves. The leaves are 3–5 mm long and 0.7–1 mm broad, tapered to a fine hair-like white point. The branches bearing spore cones turn erect, reaching 5–15 cm above ground, and have fewer leaves than the horizontal branches. The spore cones are yellow-green, 2–3 cm long, and 5 mm broad. The horizontal stems produce roots at frequent intervals along their length, allowing the stem to grow indefinitely along the ground. The stems superficially resemble small seedlings of coniferous trees, though it is not related to these.


Close-up of sporophylls

It has a subcosmopolitan distribution, with distinct subspecies and varieties in different parts of its range:

Although globally widespread, like many clubmosses, it is confined to undisturbed sites, disappearing from farmed areas and sites with regular burning. As a result, it is endangered in many areas. In the UK it is one of 101 species named as a high priority for conservation by the wild plant charity Plantlife.[2]

Other common names

Common names for this species include common clubmoss, stag's-horn clubmoss, wolf-paw clubmoss, foxtail clubmoss, running clubmoss, running ground-pine, running pine,[1] running moss, princess pine, and others.

Use

The spores of this moss, "lycopodium powder", are explosive if present in the air in high enough densities. They were used as flash powder in early photography and magic acts.

Active constituents

Bioactive, secondary metabolites in clubmosses include triterpenoids with acetylcholinesterase inhibitor activity isolated from this species.[3]

  • L. clavatum ssp. clavatum var. clavatum, with sporophyll

  • L. clavatum with sporophylls

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Bailey, L.H.; Bailey, E.Z.; the staff of the Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third: A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada. Macmillan, New York.
  2. ^ http://www.plantlife.org.uk/index.html Plantlife website
  3. ^ Rollinger JM, Ewelt J, Seger C, Sturm S, Ellmerer EP, Stuppner H (2005). Planta Med;71(11):1040-3. PMID 16320206
Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorWikipedia
Sourcehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lycopodium_clavatum&oldid=626960133

Type collection for Lycopodium vestitum var. herbaceum Spring
Catalog Number: US 694031
Collection: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany
Preparation: Pressed specimen
Collector(s): A. Moritz
Locality: Sierra Nevada., Colombia, South America

  • Type collection: Spring, A. F. 1849. Mem. Acad. Roy. Sci. Belgique. 24: 45.
Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorThis image was obtained from the Smithsonian Institution. Unless otherwise noted, this image or its contents may be protected by international copyright laws.
Sourcehttp://collections.mnh.si.edu/search/botany/?irn=2084791

Comments:

Plants found in eastern North America have been called Lycopodium clavatum var. clavatum ; those in the western part of the range, which have been called L . clavatum var. integrifolium Goldie, are distinguished by early shedding of the characteristic hairs on the leaf tips. 

 Lycopodium dendroideum group

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Rights holder/AuthoreFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden
Sourcehttp://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=200002751

Isotype for Lycopodium clavatum var. pseudocontiguum Christ in Pittier
Catalog Number: US 1111018
Collection: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany
Preparation: Pressed specimen
Collector(s): H. F. Pittier
Locality: Costa Rica, Central America

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorThis image was obtained from the Smithsonian Institution. Unless otherwise noted, this image or its contents may be protected by international copyright laws.
Sourcehttp://collections.mnh.si.edu/search/botany/?irn=2148733

Comments: The treatment followed in Kartesz's 1999 Synthesis moves all non-typical varieties of Lycopodium clavatum recognized in the 1994 checklist to L. lagopus.

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Rights holder/AuthorNatureServe
Sourcehttp://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Lycopodium+clavatum

Syntype for Lycopodium contiguum Klotzsch
Catalog Number: US 866983
Collection: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany
Verification Degree: Verified from the card file of type specimens
Preparation: Pressed specimen
Collector(s): A. Moritz
Locality: Colombia, South America

  • Syntype: Klotzsch, J. F. 1844. Linnaea. 18: 519.
Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorThis image was obtained from the Smithsonian Institution. Unless otherwise noted, this image or its contents may be protected by international copyright laws.
Sourcehttp://collections.mnh.si.edu/search/botany/?irn=10197295

Syntype for Lycopodium contiguum Klotzsch
Catalog Number: US 694024
Collection: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany
Verification Degree: Verified from the card file of type specimens
Preparation: Pressed specimen
Collector(s): A. Moritz
Locality: Colombia, South America

  • Syntype: Klotzsch, J. F. 1844. Linnaea. 18: 519.
Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorThis image was obtained from the Smithsonian Institution. Unless otherwise noted, this image or its contents may be protected by international copyright laws.
Sourcehttp://collections.mnh.si.edu/search/botany/?irn=10197293
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