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- Clubmosses and relatives, plus quillworts
- Pseudolycopodiella caroliniana
Pseudolycopodiella caroliniana — slender false bog-clubmoss
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New England distribution
Adapted from BONAP data
Native: indigenous.
Non-native: introduced (intentionally or unintentionally); has become naturalized.
County documented: documented to exist in the county by evidence (herbarium specimen, photograph). Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
State documented: documented to exist in the state, but not documented to a county within the state. Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
Note: when native and non-native populations both exist in a county, only native status is shown on the map.
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Facts
Slender false bog-clubmoss inhabits bogs and interdunal swales from New York to Texas. The only known New England population was extirpated by a grading operation.
Habitat
Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), meadows and fields, shores of rivers or lakes
Characteristics
- Habitat
-
- terrestrial
- wetlands
- New England state
- Massachusetts
- Leaf shape
- the vegetative leaves are short and scale-like
- Spore leaf arrangement
- the sporophylls are located on spore cones at the tips of the shoots or branches
- Form of shoot
- the plant has an upright stem, but no branches
- Horizontal stem
- the horizontal stem is on the surface of the ground
- Leaf differences
- the vegetative leaves within a node differ in size and shape
- Teeth on leaf edges
- the edges of the vegetative leaves have no teeth
- Spore leaf length
- 2.8–3.3 mm
- Leaf outline
- the vegetative leaves are long and very narrow (linear)
-
Clonal plantlets
- Gemma arrangement
- NA
- Gemma shape
- NA
- Gemma width
- 0 mm
-
Leaves
- Leaf differences
- the vegetative leaves within a node differ in size and shape
- Leaf length
- 2–6 mm
- Leaf orientation
-
- the vegetative leaves are pressed against the stem
- the vegetative leaves spread away from the stem
- Leaf outline
- the vegetative leaves are long and very narrow (linear)
- Leaf ranks
- NA
- Leaf shape
- the vegetative leaves are short and scale-like
- Spore leaf length
- 2.8–3.3 mm
- Teeth on leaf edges
- the edges of the vegetative leaves have no teeth
-
Place
- Habitat
-
- terrestrial
- wetlands
- New England state
- Massachusetts
- Specific habitat
-
- man-made or disturbed habitats
- meadows or fields
- shores of rivers or lakes
-
Spores or spore cones
- Cone base at stem
-
- the base of the spore-cone does not have a distinct stalk
- the base of the spore-cone has a distinct stalk
- Cone stalk branching
- the stalks bearing the spore cones are unbranched
- Cone thickness
- 0.9–3 mm
- Cone width
- 3–5 mm
- Length of cone
- 9–30 mm
- Number of cones
- 1
- Quillwort itssue covering spores
- NA
- Same or different spores
- there is only one type of spore present
- Spore diameter
- Up to 0.05
- Spore leaf arrangement
- the sporophylls are located on spore cones at the tips of the shoots or branches
- Spore leaf lifespan
- the sporophylls wither and fall off at the end of the growing season
- Spore leaf orientation
- the sporophylls are pressed against the spore cone
- Spore leaf shape
- the spore-bearing leaves are small and scale-like
- Spore leaf teeth
- The edges of the spore-bearing leaves are smooth, and without teeth
- Spore texture
- the spore surface has an irregular pattern of ridges and empty spaces (rugulate), or it has minute pits on it (foveolate)
- Sporophyll ranks
-
- the sporophylls come off the cone at many different angles (5 or more ranks)
- the sporophylls line up to form an X (4 ranks of leaves)
- Sterile tip of cone
- the spore cone does not have a slender, sterile tip (the whole cone produces spores)
-
Stem, shoot, branch
- Branch cross-section
- the outermost level of branches are round, elliptic or semicircular in cross-section
- Branch form
- the main stem has no branches
- Constriction zones
-
- there are no constrictions on the horizontal stem with smaller leaves
- there are no constrictions on the vertical stem with smaller leaves
- Form of shoot
- the plant has an upright stem, but no branches
- Horizontal stem
- the horizontal stem is on the surface of the ground
- Horizontal stem length
- 40–85 mm
- Horizontal stem thickness
- 0.6–1 mm
- Stem height
- 50–150 mm
Wetland status
Usually occurs in wetlands, but occasionally in non-wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: FACW)
New England distribution and conservation status
Distribution
- Connecticut
- absent
- Maine
- absent
- Massachusetts
- present
- New Hampshire
- absent
- Rhode Island
- absent
- Vermont
- absent
Conservation status
Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.
- Massachusetts
- extirpated (S-rank: SX), #NAME? (code: #NAME?)
Native to North America?
Yes
Sometimes confused with
Family
Genus
From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae
1. Pseudolycopodiella caroliniana (L.) Holub NC
slender false bog-clubmoss. Lycopodiella caroliniana (L.) Pichi-Sermolli; Lycopodium carolinianum L. • MA; known only from Hampshire County, MA. Hydric, often sandy, soils of meadows, ditches, and shores. New England’s single occurrence of this species was extirpated by extensive grading of the site.