Lesser Clubmoss

Common Name: Lesser Clubmoss

Latin Name: Selaginella selaginoides

Family: Selaginellaceae (Lesser Clubmoss family)

The lesser clubmoss is an example of a lycopod. Lycopods are an ancient group of plants with very simple roots systems, stems, leaves and spores. They are thought to have evolved after mosses and before horsetails, ferns, conifers and flowering plants. During the Carboniferous period (360 to 280 million years ago) lycopods were prominent plants of the great coal-forming swamp forests, with 10m tall lycopod trees and herbaceous plants. However all of these larger species have since become extinct leaving smaller species like the lesser clubmoss which provide us with a fascinating window into the past.

Lesser clubmoss is an inconspicuous plant. In the British Isles it is locally common in damp places among moss and short grass on mountains. In the Yorkshire Dales National Park it occurs in base-rich flushes and damp sedgy upland pastures throughout the National Park.