Description

General - low, with erect branches at first, then branching to trailing stems which spread out over the ground; densely leafed.

Leaves - verdant green, spreading upward; linear, narrow, lance-shaped, decreasing to a hairlike point 2-3 mm long.

Spore Clusters - spores developed in globular cones on long stalks at the end of branches; cones individual or in groups of 2 or 3.

Habitat

Moist forest, thickets, and heathland; widespread across Northwestern Ontario's boreal forest; circumpolar.

Notes

The spores of clubmosses have been used in many ways throughout time. North American Indians have applied them to cuts and to treat various skin problems, including eczema and chaffed skin. Running club-moss spores are highly flammable. As with stiff clubmoss spores, they were once used by photographers and theatre performers as flash powder.

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