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Fan Clubmoss

Diphasiastrum digitatum

Summary 5

Diphasiastrum digitatum is known as Groundcedar or Crowsfoot, along with other members of its genus, but the common name Fan Clubmoss can be used to refer to it specifically. It is the most common species of Diphasiastrum in North America. It is a type of plant known as a clubmoss, which is within one of the three main divisions of living vascular plants. It was formerly included in the superspecies Diphasiastrum complanatum. For many years, this...

Barcode data: diphasiastrum digitatum 6

The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.


Barcode data: lycopodium digitatum 7

The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.


Comments 8

An endemic in eastern North America, Diphasiastrum digitatum is the most abundant species of Diphasiastrum on the continent, much used for decoration as wreaths. It was long confused with the circumboreal D . complanatum .

Description 9

Horizontal stems on substrate surface, 1.3--2.7 mm wide; leaves appressed to ascending, linear to narrowly lanceolate, 1.8--4.5 X 0.6--1.2 mm, apex acute, scarious, often lost. Upright shoots 15--50 cm, branching regularly successively to 3 times; leaves appressed with decurrent base, subulate, 1.8--3.5 X 0.6--1 mm, apex acute. Branchlets flat in cross section, narrowly bladelike, 2.8--3.9 mm wide, annual bud constrictions very rare; underside dull, pale, flat; upperside green, flat, shiny. Leaves of branchlets 4-ranked; upperside leaves appressed, linear-lanceolate, free portion of blade 0.7--1.5 X 0.5--0.9 mm; lateral leaves appressed to spreading (spreading especially in juvenile stages), 3.1--5.5 X 1--2 mm; underside leaves very weakly developed, spreading, narrowly deltate, 0.3--1 X 0.3--0.7 mm, apex pointed. Peduncles mostly 2, 4.4--12.5 X 0.1--1.3 cm; leaves usually somewhat whorled, linear-lanceolate to nearly filiform, 2--3.3 X 0.5--0.9 mm, apex blunt to acute. Stalks mostly pseudowhorled, 2-forked, forks basal. Strobili 2--4 per upright shoot, 14--40 X 2--3 mm exclusive of elongate sterile tip; sterile tips to 11 mm (occurring on ca. 50% of specimens), apex blunt to acute if sterile tip is absent. Sporophylls deltate, 1.7--2.6 X 1.8--2.8 mm, apex abruptly tapering. 2 n = 46.

Sources and Credits

  1. (c) dogtooth77, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/53817483@N00/4975224117
  2. (c) Lee Bonnifield, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.flickr.com/photos/lee_bonnifield/4827826766/
  3. (c) Lee Bonnifield, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.flickr.com/photos/lee_bonnifield/4907618252/
  4. (c) Seabrooke Leckie, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), https://www.flickr.com/photos/rustyblackbird/3006187453/
  5. Adapted by Jonathan (JC) Carpenter from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diphasiastrum_digitatum
  6. (c) Barcode of Life Data Systems, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://eol.org/data_objects/30666791
  7. (c) Barcode of Life Data Systems, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://eol.org/data_objects/30666648
  8. (c) Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/19823655
  9. (c) Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/5007664

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