Lycopodium annotinum

Snake club moss ( Lycopodium annotinum )

The perennial, evergreen scion end club moss ( Lycopodium annotinum ), also known as club moss forest or Snake club moss, is a specially protected by the BArtSchV representative of the vascular cryptogams. Previously, the plant was used as a magic or witches plant as an aphrodisiac and was generally regarded as a medicinal plant. It thus has a ethnobotanical importance.

Occurrence

The scion end club moss forms visible Sporophyllstände August to September. It can be found in moist, acidic soil, shady forests, especially in the needle, moor and beech forests. He also rarely occurs in dwarf shrub heaths. Its distribution reaches the end of club moss sprout in the submeridionalen to arctic climates and there comes from the flat to the hill country before. In Austria it is moderately common in the German states it is rare to very rare. In most states it is therefore classified on the Red List of vascular plants as endangered or critically endangered. He is also particularly protected by the BArtSchV. The plant is also outside Europe on the entire northern and southern hemisphere circumpolar ago.

Identifying

The scion end club moss forms of aboveground creeping shoots which can be up to 1 m long. From these grow about 10 to 30 cm ascending shoots up, which may have a dense leafy immediately seated Sporophyllstand. The leaves of the ascending shoots are similar to the needle leaves of conifers. They are horizontally from, appear to be relatively rigid, sharply pointed and finely toothed. However, a hair lace does not exist. The individual Sporophyllstände sit directly on the leaves sprout and are about 2-4 cm long.