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:

Andromeda polifolia, Betula nana, Carex scirpoidea, Larix laricina, Menyanthes trifoliata, Picea mariana, Tofieldia glutinosa, Viola nephrophylla

RARITY STATUS

Provincial Status According
to Harms (2003):

Threatened

Nature Conservancy Status:

Saskatchewan Species at
Risk Status:

None

COSEWIC Status:

None

Selaginella selaginoides 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 prostrate, 1 – 4 cm long, forming small mats; fertile branches erect, 4 – 10 cm high

Leaves:

spirally arranged, small, 1-nerved, overlapping; on sterile branches spreading, lanceolate; on fertile branches ascending, lanceolate, apex acuminate, margins spinulose

Strobili:

terminal, heterosporous, 1 – 3 cm long, nearly cylindrical; sporophylls leaf-like, larger than leaves, spinulose

Sporangia:

solitary in axils of sporophylls, microsporangia containing microspores, megasporangia containing megaspores

Spores:

microspores small, megaspores large

Gametophytes:

small, largely contained within spore walls

SELAGINELLA KEY FOR SPECIES FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN

1 Strobili nearly cylindrical; plants forming small mats; leaves soft, not bristle-tipped; rootlets few	S. selaginoides
1 Strobili 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; megaspores bright orange	S. rupestris
2 Leaf bristle ca. 1 – 2 mm long, broader at base; megaspores pale to bright orange	S. densa