Species: Selaginella selaginoides (L.) Beauv. ex Mart. & Schrank

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Selaginella selaginoides (L.) Beauv. ex Mart. & Schrank

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TAXONOMY

Family:

Selaginellaceae

Genus:

Selaginella

Species Synonyms:

Selaginella spinosa P. Beauv.

Common Names:

northern spikemoss
prickly selaginella
northern selaginella

DISTRIBUTION

Canada:

Yukon – Mackenzie District – northern Saskatchewan – northern Manitoba – Ungava – Labrador, south to southern British Columbia – south western Alberta – central Saskatchewan – Ontario – Quebec – Newfoundland

Saskatchewan:

northern – central Saskatchewan; Cluff Lake – Hasbala Lake, Pike Lake – Candle Lake – Pasquia Hills

Ecoregion:

Moist Mixed Grassland, Aspen Parkland, Boreal Transition, Mid-Boreal Upland, Mid-Boreal Lowland, Athabasca Plain, Selwyn Lake Upland

HABITAT

Saskatchewan:

receding shorelines and calcareous bogs

Associated Species:

black spruce, bog birch, bog rosemary, buck bean, downy sedge, northern bog violet, sticky false asphodel, tamarack

RARITY STATUS

Provincial Status According
to Harms (2003):

Threatened

Nature Conservancy Status:

Saskatchewan Species at
Risk Status:

None

COSEWIC Status:

None

Northern spikemoss is threatened because it is rare or uncommon in Saskatchewan. No immediate threats are known but may occur in the future.

SPECIES DESCRIPTION

Growth Habit:

resembling mosses, perennial

Roots:

fibrous, few

Stems:

sterile stems creeping, 1 – 4 cm long, forming small mats; fertile branches erect, 4 – 10 cm high

Leaves:

spirally arranged, small, 1-nerved, overlapping; leaves on sterile branches spreading, lance-shaped; on fertile branches ascending, lance-shaped, tip tapered to a long point, margins bearing small spines

Cones:

terminal, with spores of two types, 1 – 3 cm long, nearly cylindrical; bracts leaf-like, larger than leaves, bearing small spines

Spore Sacs:

solitary in axils of bracts; male spore sacs containing many, small spores; female spore sacs few, large megaspores

Gametophytes:

small, largely contained within spore walls

SELAGINELLA KEY FOR SPECIES FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN

1 Cones nearly cylindrical; plants forming small mats; leaves soft, not bristle-tipped; rootlets few	S. selaginoides
1 Cones sharply 4-angled; plants densely tufted; leaves firm, bristle-tipped; rootlets many	2

2 Leaf bristle ca. 0.5 mm long, scarcely broader at base; female spores bright orange	S. rupestris
2 Leaf bristle ca. 1 – 2 mm long, broader at base; female spores pale to bright orange	S. densa