Shining Clubmoss

Scientific Name: Huperzia lucidula. The species name, lucidula, means shiny in Latin and refers to the lustrous leaves.

Common Name: Shining Clubmoss. Yes, these plants have shiny green leaves! But although these plants resemble mosses, they are not! Mosses are non-vascular, lacking tissues to transport water and nutrients, while clubmosses are vascular plants. Shining firmoss is a common name that is getting more use since plants in the genus Huperzia have been split out from the genus Lycopodium.^1,2 Do these plants remind you of branches on a fir tree?

Family: Lycopodiaceae (Clubmoss family). The roughly 400 species in this family are found mainly in tropical mountains but also grow in northern forests. These evergreen, vascular plants have narrow leaves resembling needles or scales. Like ferns, they reproduce by spores! Many of the plants in this family have clublike structures from which spores are released, but some species like Huperzia lucidula lack these.^3,4

Plants in this family evolved from some of the oldest vascular plants on Earth! Species in the clubmoss family are lycophytes (in the class Lycopodiopsida). Fossil records include lycophytes from the Devonian Period (beginning 419.2 million years ago)! During the Carboniferous Period, some lycophytes (now extinct) were the size of trees and their remains make up part of today’s coal fields.^1,3,4

Average Height: 3-8 inches

Description: A perennial evergreen plant with narrow leaves spiralling around a smooth green stem. Stems are typically erect, but the base may be laying on the ground. The leaves are broadest near the tip and have tiny teeth. The shiny, green leaves are ⅕ – ⅗” in length and have stomates (air pores) on the underside of the leaf. At the base of the upper leaves, kidney-shaped, yellowish tan spore cases develop. In fall, the cases split open, releasing the spores to be carried away by the wind. Empty spore cases remain on the stem. To successfully develop from spores, shining clubmoss is dependent on certain fungi in the soil! Small bud-like structures called gemmae appear in rings on the stem. In the fall, they will separate from the plant, falling to the ground where they can grow roots and new plants!^1,2,4,5

Bloom time: This species does not have flowers. Instead it has spores that are normally released from June through August.

Notes: The habitat and shape of the leaves can be used to help distinguish this species from other similar clubmosses in our area. The 2 other firmosses (Huperzia spp.) in Virginia have leaves which are wider towards the base of the leaf. Some other clubmosses prefer to grow either in wet seepages or on rocks, while shining clubmoss grows in soil, surrounded by leaf litter.^1,2

Range: A species commonly found at high elevations and in the mountains of Virginia. Widespread across the state but infrequent in the Piedmont and north Coastal Plain and rare or absent in a number of counties in the south Coastal Plain.⁶ Associated with the mountains and northern forests, it grows from Maine west to Minnesota and as far south as Missouri, also east to northern Georgia. Rarely found in Alabama, Arkansas, and New Mexico. Additionally, may be found in Canada from Newfoundland to Ontario.^7,8

Geology/Soil: Prefers to grow in moist, acidic soils in cool microclimates, typically amongst leaf litter.^1,2

Habitat: Typically found growing in moist forests including high-elevation forests with conifers or a mixed canopy. May grow in damp places such as seepage swamp hummocks, or in shady, cool locations in ravines, on slopes, or on stream banks.^1,2,4,6

Flora associations: Although most strongly associated with high elevation spruce forests, Huperzia lucidula can grow in mixed or deciduous forests as well. Here it can be found growing with species such as strawberry-bush (Euonymus americanus), Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides), cranefly orchid (Tipularia discolor), tulip-tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), northern red oak (Quercus rubra), and American beech (Fagus grandifolia).

Fauna associations: At this time, no information is available about connections with insects or other animals.¹

Human associations: The Haudenosaunee people use Huperzia lucidula to treat blood problems and neck sores. No edible uses are known.⁹

While not a lot of information on this specific species is available, a wide variety of uses have been found for different species of clubmoss. Indigenous people use parts of the plants to treat headaches, rashes, postpartum pain, fevers, lung diseases, and more. Spores are used to treat nosebleeds or stop other wounds from bleeding. Other uses include as a dye for fabrics or as decoration.^10,11

The clubmoss spores, sold as lycopodium powder, are flammable and can produce bright flashes of light. This ability has resulted in the spores being used in flash photography, science experiments, fireworks, and for special effects in theater productions and magic shows! In the past, the powder was used to coat latex gloves to stop them from sticking and for coating pills.¹⁰ Today, in order to find the concentration of pollen in a sediment sample, geologists and archeologists use a method in which tablets made with spores of the clubmoss Lycopodium clavatum are mixed with the sample and looked at under a microscope!¹²

We want these plants to thrive and for everyone who gets to visit the park to enjoy them, so remember – don’t pick flowers or other parts of the plant!!

1 “Shining Firmoss (Huperzia Lucidula).” Illinoiswildflowers.info, 2025, www.illinoiswildflowers.info/grasses/plants/sh_firmoss.html. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.

2 “Vascular Plants of North Carolina – Huperzia lucidula.” Ncparks.gov, 2019, auth1.dpr.ncparks.gov/flora/plant_list.php. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.

3 “Club Moss | Description, Taxonomy, & Facts.” Encyclopedia Britannica, www.britannica.com/plant/club-moss. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.

4 Weakley, A.S., J.C. Ludwig, and J.F. Townsend. 2012. Flora of Virginia. Bland Crowder, ed. Foundation of the Flora of Virginia Project, Inc., Richmond. Fort Worth: Botanical Research Institute of Texas Press, pp. 141-149.

5 “Huperzia Lucidula (Shining Firmoss): Minnesota Wildflowers.” Www.minnesotawildflowers.info, www.minnesotawildflowers.info/fern/shining-firmoss. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.

6 “Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora | Huperzia Lucidula (Michx.) Trevisan.” Vaplantatlas.org, 2025, www.vaplantatlas.org/index.php?do=plant&plant=888&search=Search. Accessed 28 Jan. 2025.

7 “NatureServe Explorer 2.0.” Natureserve.org, 2025, explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.146019/Huperzia_lucidula. Accessed 28 Jan. 2025.

8 “2014 BONAP Maps by States – Huperzia Lucidula.” Bonap.net, 14 Dec. 2014, bonap.net/FieldMaps/Home/SingleMap?taxonId=14346&mapType=County. Accessed 28 Jan. 2025.

9 “BRIT – Native American Ethnobotany Database.” Brit.org, 2025, naeb.brit.org/uses/search/?string=huperzia+lucidula. Accessed 28 Jan. 2025.

10 Lobstein, Marion. “Clubmosses: An Ancient and Interesting Group of “Fern Allies” – Prince William Wildflower Society.” Virginia Native Plant Society , vnps.org/princewilliamwildflowersociety/botanizing-with-marion/clubmosses-an-ancient-and-interesting-group-of-fern-allies/. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.

11 “BRIT – Native American Ethnobotany Database.” Brit.org, 2025, naeb.brit.org/uses/search/?string=lycopodium. Accessed 28 Jan. 2025.

12 Muscheler, Raimund, and Åsa Wallin. Pollen Analytical Standard. Dec. 2023, www.geology.lu.se/sites/geology.lu.se/files/2024-06/Certificate%20batch%20101023-231.pdf. Accessed 28 Jan. 2025.

Definitions:

Gemmae: Bud-like structures that grow on a plant which then detach and grow as new plants.

Spore: A single-celled reproductive organ, produced by non-flowering plants, such as ferns, horsetails, clubmosses, and mosses.

Vascular: Possessing conductive tissues that are used to transport water and food.