CLUB MOSSES
Marisa Ramunas
Gabriel Dominguez
Period 8 – Biology
The History of the Club Moss
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Ancient club mosses grew into huge trees
(up to 35 meters in height) and some grew
into what is now some of the Earth’s first
forest.
The fossilized remains of these tress exist
today as large beds of coal.
Now…
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Club mosses are small plants that live in
moist woodlands located near streams
and marshes.
Members of the genus Lycopodium
(common club moss) look like mini pine
trees.
This picture
shows how club
mosses look
now a days.
Basics
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Common Name: Club Moss
Scientific Name: Lycopodium spp
Family: Clubmoss (Lycopodiaceae)
Other Common Names: Ground Pine, Club
Pine, ground cedar, and running pine
Habitat: Moist, shaded woodlands
General Bloom Dates: June - September
About the Club Moss
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Club Mosses have horizontal branching stems,
both underground and above. These stems
will send up shoots that will hold the flowering
portion of the plant. These plants produce
spores in a cone like structure at the end of
the stem. Once the spores germinate, they
develop into a "thallus" which then produce
male and female egg cells. These cells then
reproduce to form the new plant.
This process can take up to 20 years.
Seedless Vascular Plants
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Club mosses are seedless vascular plants
meaning that these plants do not produce
seeds, so the seeds are dispersed with the
wind.
These club mosses have true roots, steams,
and leaves.
Club mosses are said to
be very similar to the
earliest vascular plants.
They have small scalelike leaves,
homosporous spores
borne in sporangia at
the bases of the leaves,
branching stems, and
generally have a
simple form.
Structure of a Club Moss
Stobilus - Is a structure present on
most plant species consisting of
leaf-like, sporangia-bearing
structures densely aggregated
along a stem. (AKA – Cones)
Horizontal Stem – Are what
produce roots at frequent
intervals along their length,
allowing the stem to grow
indefinitely along the ground.
Adventitious Root – It arise out-ofsequence from the more usual
root formation of branches of a
primary root, and instead it
originate from the stem,
branches, leaves, or old woody
roots.
Facts
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There are 400 species of Club Mosses.
They are considered to be “cosmopolitan”
meaning that they can live in the arctic
and in the tropics.
The spores of club mosses were once used
to coat pills.
More Facts :D
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Even though club mosses have the word
moss in them, doesn’t mean that they are
considered mosses. They are actually
considered to be plants.
In Europe, the club mosses used to help
with kidney and bladder disorders.
They were also used to produce fireworks.