Selaginella hansenii
Selaginella viridissima
Hansen's spike-moss
green spikemoss, slender spike-moss
not readily fragmenting, prostrate, upperside and underside structurally different, irregularly forked, branches determinate, tips upturned.
radially symmetric, underground (rhizomatous) and aerial, not readily fragmenting, irregularly forked; rhizomatous and aerial stems often with 1 branch arrested, budlike, tips straight;
aerial stems mainly erect, seldom ascending, with budlike arrested branches throughout stem length.
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).
dimorphic, not clearly ranked.
solitary, 5–7 mm;
sporophylls ovate-deltate to ovate-triangular, abaxial ridges not prominent, base glabrous, margins short-ciliate, apex bristled.
solitary, 0.5–1.2(–2.5) cm;
sporophylls deltate-ovate to ovate-lanceolate, abaxial ridges prominent, base glabrous, margins denticulate, apex acute to obtuse.
borne on upperside of stems, throughout stem length, 0.25–0.45 mm diam.
borne on upperside of stems, restricted to rhizomatous stems and lower 1/4 of aerial stems, 0.16–0.3 mm diam.
stem leaves loosely appressed, straight, scalelike.
stem leaves appressed, ascending, green, linear-lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate, 1.8–2.1 × 0.49–0.56 mm;
abaxial ridges prominent;
base cuneate and decurrent to slightly rounded and adnate, glabrous;
margins denticulate to very short-ciliate, cilia transparent, spreading to ascending toward apex, 0.02–0.04 mm;
apex acute or seldom blunt.
Selaginella hansenii
Selaginella viridissima
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.)
In Texas Selaginella viridissima is known only from the Chisos Mountains.
Of conservation concern.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
CA
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
