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Home/Species/ Foxtail Bog Clubmoss

Lycopodiella alopecuroides

(L.) Cranfill

Foxtail Bog Clubmoss

G5Secure Found in 3 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
UnknownThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.139387
Element CodePPLYC03010
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomPlantae
PhylumLycophyta
ClassLycopodiopsida
OrderLycopodiales
FamilyLycopodiaceae
GenusLycopodiella
Synonyms
Lycopodium alopecuroidesL.
Other Common Names
Foxtail Clubmoss (EN) foxtail clubmoss (EN)
Concept Reference
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2024-03-27
Change Date1990-03-12
Edition Date2024-03-27
Edition AuthorsSoteropoulos (2024)
Threat ImpactUnknown
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
Lycopodiella alopecuroides is a wide-ranging perennial subshrub fern ally in wet, sandy habitats including prairies and pine flatwoods throughout the Americas from the eastern and south central United States, southern Mexico south through Central America to northern South America, and Cuba. Threats include development, logging, rights-of-way maintenance activities, recreational activities, deer browse, and invasive species. Little is known about trends, but with a large range extent and over 600 occurrences this species is considered secure.
Range Extent Comments
Lycopodiella alopecuroides occurs throughout the Americas from the eastern and south central United States, southern Mexico south through Central America to northern South America, and Cuba (Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2023). In the United States, it is primarily in the southeastern Coastal Plain, ranging from southeastern Massachusetts south to Florida and west to eastern Texas, and disjunct in the Cumberland Plateau, eastern Highland Rim, and Maine (Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2023). Range extent was estimated to be over 27.4 million square kilometers using herbarium specimens, photo-based observations, and NatureServe Network occurrence data documented between 1993 and 2024 (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, NatureServe 2024, SEINet 2024).
Occurrences Comments
By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium specimens, photo-based observations, and NatureServe Network occurrence data documented between 1993 and 2024, it is estimated that there are over 600 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, NatureServe 2024, SEINet 2024).
Threat Impact Comments
Although threats are not widely documented, Lycopodiella alopecuroides is threatened by development, succession leading to shading, silvicultural activities, rights-of-way maintenance activities (powerline, railroad, and roadside), recreational activities, deer browse, invasive species, and other threats in some places, though there is insufficient data, including anecdotal accounts, to understand scope and severity of threats for this species.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Lycopodiella alopecuroides grows in "pine savannas, seepages, wet pine flatwoods, wet prairies, bogs, ditches, and other wet, sandy sites" (Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2023).
Terrestrial Habitats
Woodland - ConiferSavannaGrassland/herbaceous
Palustrine Habitats
Bog/fen
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
GeorgiaS5Yes
AlabamaSNRYes
MarylandS4Yes
FloridaS3Yes
VirginiaS5Yes
District of ColumbiaS1Yes
MississippiS5Yes
West VirginiaS1Yes
South CarolinaS4Yes
TexasSNRYes
New HampshireS1Yes
DelawareS3Yes
North CarolinaS4Yes
PennsylvaniaS1Yes
LouisianaSNRYes
New JerseyS5Yes
New YorkS2Yes
Rhode IslandS2Yes
MaineS1Yes
MassachusettsS1Yes
TennesseeS2Yes
ArkansasS1Yes
ConnecticutS1Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
Unknown/undetermined———

—

Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (3)
Florida (3)
AreaForestAcres
Gum BayApalachicola National Forest11,645
Long BayApalachicola National Forest5,726
SavannahApalachicola National Forest1,927
References (20)
  1. Bietel, J. 1979. Clubmosses (<i>Lycopodium</i>) in North America. Fiddlehead Forum 6:1-8.
  2. Bruce, J.G. 1976a. Gametes and sub-generic concepts in <i>Lycopodium</i>. American Journal of Botany 63:919-924.
  3. Bruce, J.G. 1976b. Comparative studies in the biology of <i>Lycopodium carolinianum</i>. American Fern Journal 66(4)125-136
  4. Cobb, B. 1963. A Field Guide to the Ferns. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, USA.
  5. Cranfill, R. 1981. Bog clubmosses (<i>Lycopodiella</i>) in Kentucky. American Fern Journal 71:97-100.
  6. Fernald, M.L. 1950 Gray's Manual of Botany, 8th ed. American Book Company, New York. 1632 pp.
  7. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 1993a. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 2. Pteridophytes and gymnosperms. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xvi + 475 pp.
  8. Gleason, H.A. 1952. The new Britton and Brown illustrated flora of the northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. 3 volumes. Hafner Press, New York. 1732 pp.
  9. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2024. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2024).
  10. iNaturalist. 2024. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2024).
  11. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  12. Koster, H. 1941. New <i>Lycopodium </i>Gametophytes from New Jersey. American Fern Journal 31:53-58.
  13. Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species Plantarum. First edition printed by Adlard &amp; Son, Bartholomew Press, Dorking, Great Britain. 2 vol.
  14. NatureServe. 2024. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia.
  15. Small, J.K. 1964. Ferns of the Southeastern States. Hafner Publishing Co., New York, NY.
  16. Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2024. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2024).
  17. Weakley, A.S., and Southeastern Flora Team. 2023. Flora of the southeastern United States. Edition of April 14, 2023. University of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU), North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 2105 pp.
  18. Wherry, E.T. 1940-1941. The Ferns and Lycosphenes of Pennsylvania. Bartonia 21:11-37.
  19. Whitebread, C. 1941. Beware of <i>Lycopodium</i>. American Fern Journal 31:101-102.
  20. Wilson, L.R. 1934. The spores of the genus <i>Lycopodium </i>in the United States and Canada. Rhodora 36:13-19.