Diphasiastrum alpinum

Alpine Clubmoss ( Diphasiastrum alpinum)

The Alpine Clubmoss, Diphasiastrum alpinum (L.) Holup, Syn Lycopodium alpinum L. belongs within the family of club mosses generic Flachbärlappe.

Description

The Alpine Clubmoss is a Chamaephyt, its aboveground sterile shoots are 4- angled, usually not flattened ( in shady locations but somewhat flattened ). The Ventralblätter are distinctly stalked and knelt and 0.5 mm wide. Dorsal and Ventralblätter are equal. The Sporophyllstand is sessile, the sporophylls lanceolate, acuminate.

The Sporenreife extends from August to September.

The whole plant is overflowing blue-green.

Popularization

The Alpine Clubmoss is a boreal - alpine species (including boreal - montane alpine temperat ). Its main distribution area is in the northern hemisphere: central Europe, the Alps ( to 2110 m), the Carpathians, Pyrenees, especially Northern Europe ( up to northern Scandinavia) and North America. Mostly it is found in the mountains of the Balkan Peninsula and in the low mountain ranges of Central Europe. In Finland and northern Russia it is rare. In the Mediterranean region it is missing.

Locations

The Alpine Clubmoss grows in loose teams to light rich to slightly shaded, moderately fresh, lime-poor, acidic, often slightly humic sites on ( sandy ) clay soils, usually in long snowy situation (snow cover often until May-June) like to open, sparsely vegetated, but moss rich areas, often at Wegböschungen. Obviously he is a weak competitors Art

Its natural resources are in dwarf shrub -rich Nardus grasslands of the high altitude ( Leontodo - Nardetum ), regionally he is also a Nardion type.

Particularity

The very scattered occurrence in Central Europe are interpreted as Glazialrelikt.