Shining Clubmoss is a fern-like, herbaceous perennial, evergreen subshrub in the Clubmoss family usually found in the moist forests and ravines of its native eastern North America. Shining Clubmoss is a North Carolina native, fairly common in the Mountains and occasionally found in the Piedmont. This plant has stems that lie upon the ground, but rise up and extend to 8 inches high at the tip. The trailing stems, up to 3 feet in length, will form a mat. The leaves along the stems are small. The plant does not bear flowers, but some of the leaves will develop reproductive spores in summer. The species name comes from the Latin for shining in reference to the plant’s bright green color Shining Clubmoss prefers dappled sunlight or medium shade, moist or dry-mesic conditions, and an acidic soil that contains some decaying organic matter. It is typically surrounded by a protective layer of leaf litter. The plant can spread in a number of ways. Spores are released in the fall and distributed by the wind. Also in the fall, small green buds (gemmae) appear on the stems. The gemmae become detached from the stems and distributed by wind or water to moist ground where they develop fibrous roots. Also, the trailing stems of mature plants can develop fibrous roots when they establish contact with moist ground. Development from spores is a slow, hit or miss, process that takes several years to complete and requires the presence of soil fungi. It is easier to propagate new plants by using the gemmae of mature plants. The Clubmoss family derive from some of the oldest vascular plants on Earth. Tree-size specimens of clubmoss occurred during the Carboniferous era, eventually forming part of the coal fields of today. The Clemson University Home and Garden Information Center has a factsheet on clubmosses including Huperzia lucidula . Diseases, Insect Pests, and Other Plant Problems: No known diseases or insect pests.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt)
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
3 - Shrub
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Creeping; Spreading
Texture
Medium
Leaf color
Green
Leaf shape
Linear; Oblanceolate; Oblong
Leaf margin
Dentate
Leaf value
Showy
Leaf size
< 1 inch long
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Flat leaves with a few large teeth. Dense pseudo-whorls of small sessile leaves, ascending above, spreading in the middle, and descending below. The size of leaves varies with the season, producing annual growth constrictions. The larger leaves are 1/4 to 1/2 inch long, while smaller leaves are 1/8 to 1/4 inch long. Stomata (air-pores) are restricted to the lower side of leaves.
Flower detail
No flowers, produces spores
Fruit color
Cream/Tan
Fruit size
< 1 inch long, < 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
During the summer, kidney shaped sporangia (spore-bearing structures) develop in the axils of upper leaves. Sporangia-bearing leaves are slightly smaller than leaves without sporangia.
Stem color
Green
Stem detail
Green, smooth, and sparingly branched stems are decumbent on the ground at their bases then ascending to erect.