Selaginella hansenii
Selaginella douglasii
Hansen's spike-moss
Douglas selaginella, Douglas' spike-moss, Douglas' spikemoss clubmoss, lesser clubmoss
not readily fragmenting, prostrate, upperside and underside structurally different, irregularly forked, branches determinate, tips upturned.
long-creeping, branched, branches 2–3-forked, flat, not articulate, glabrous.
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).
delicate and papery.
solitary, 5–7 mm;
sporophylls ovate-deltate to ovate-triangular, abaxial ridges not prominent, base glabrous, margins short-ciliate, apex bristled.
paired, 0.6–1.1 cm;
sporophylls monomorphic, ovate-lanceolate, keeled, keel not dentate, base glabrous, margins green, entire or with a few scattered, short cilia, apex acute to acuminate.
borne on upperside of stems, throughout stem length, 0.25–0.45 mm diam.
borne on underside of stems throughout stem length or restricted to proximal ± 2/3 of main stem or axillary throughout stem, 0.2–0.4 mm diam.
leaves spreading or slightly ascending, distant, shiny green becoming shiny brown, with orange or red spot or entirely reddish, ovate to ovate-oblong or oblong, 1.5–3.2 X (1–)1.5–2.2 mm;
base auriculate, basiscopic auricle conspicuous, acroscopic auricle inconspicuous or base ± rounded;
margins green, ciliate toward auricles, otherwise entire;
apex rounded to obtuse or truncate.
leaves ovate-oblong, (1.8–)2–2.2 × 1–1.3 mm;
base auriculate, outer auricle larger than inner one;
margins green, ciliate at auricles, otherwise entire;
apex abruptly cuspidate to bristled.
Selaginella hansenii
Selaginella douglasii
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.)
Selaginella douglasii, with no close relatives in the flora, is easy to identify by its shiny green leaves when young, turning shiny light brown when old, with an orange to red spot at the base, or totally reddish. Its closest relative is the Mexican S. delicatissima Linden ex A. Braun.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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