Selaginella hansenii
Selaginella cinerascens
Hansen's spike-moss
ashy spike-moss, gray spike-moss, mesa spikemoss
not readily fragmenting, prostrate, upperside and underside structurally different, irregularly forked, branches determinate, tips upturned.
creeping, not readily fragmenting, upperside and underside structurally slightly different, irregularly forked, without budlike arrested branches, tips straight;
main stem indeterminate, lateral branches determinate, ascending, 1–2-forked.
with underside leaves slightly longer and narrower than upperside leaves, otherwise monomorphic, not clearly ranked, tightly appressed, ascending, green or green with red spots, or reddish, linear-lanceolate (underside) to linear-triangular (upperside), (2–)3–4.5 × 0.5–0.6 mm;
abaxial ridges present;
base abruptly adnate, pubescent (sometimes glabrous);
margins ciliate, cilia white to white opaque, strongly appressed and ascending, 0.03–0.1 mm;
apex with bristle white to white-opaque, 0.5–1.4 mm (those on underside leaves sometimes 1/4–1/2 longer than those on upperside leaves).
monomorphic, not in defined pseudowhorls, loosely appressed, ascending, green, linear-lanceolate, (1–)2.5–3 X (0.25–)0.4–0.6 mm (leaves in secondary and tertiary branches smaller);
abaxial ridges inconspicuous;
base rounded and adnate or cuneate and slightly decurrent, glabrous, seldom pubescent;
margins short-ciliate, cilia transparent, scattered, ascending, 0.02–0.75 mm;
apex plane, blunt, acute to slightly acuminate (not distinctly bristled).
solitary, 5–7 mm;
sporophylls ovate-deltate to ovate-triangular, abaxial ridges not prominent, base glabrous, margins short-ciliate, apex bristled.
solitary, 2–4 mm;
sporophylls deltate-ovate to lanceolate-ovate, abaxial ridges not prominent, base glabrous, margins short-ciliate, apex not keeled, acute.
borne on upperside of stems, throughout stem length, 0.25–0.45 mm diam.
borne on upperside of stems, throughout stem length, (0.17–)0.2–0.3 mm diam.
Selaginella hansenii
Selaginella cinerascens
Leaf dimorphism in Selaginella hansenii is only slightly and inconsistently expressed; the upperside leaves tend to be more lanceolate, short, and slightly thick, whereas the underside leaves tend to be more linear, longer, and thinner, but in some specimens the leaves are monomorphic. Red leaves are rare within Selaginella subg. Tetragonostachys, otherwise found in the flora only occasionally in S. rupestris. Such leaves are more common in S. steyermarkii Alston from southern Mexico and Guatemala and S. sartorii Hieronymus from Mexico.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
The light brown and grayish mats, short lateral branches, narrow stem, and short strobili distinguish Selaginella cinerascens from all other species in the flora, in which it has no close relatives. R. M. Tryon (1955) related S. cinerascens to S. arsenei Weatherby from Mexico. Selaginella cinerascens also closely resembles S. nivea Alston from Madagascar. In California S. cinerascens is known only from San Diego County.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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