Common Ground Pine

Lycopodium obscurum (ly-koh-POH-de-um ob-SKEW-rum)

Family: Lycopodiaceae Native Shrub

Common Ground Pine is a native perennial, evergreen, subshrub in the club moss family found in moist woodlands, thickets, and clearings. It is a rhizomatous geophyte, meaning it has creeping rhizomes that root extensively. It can be found primarily in forests with acidic soil in the mountain region of North Carolina, but it is uncommon. Common Ground Pine is rare in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain. The plant has erect stems that give it a bushy, tree-like, appearance and dense, sharp, needles It is a small plant, reaching a height of a foot or less at maturity. The genus name comes from the Greek words lykos meaning wolf and podion meaning foot in reference to some purported resemblance to a wolf’s foot. Common Ground Pine is a shade-loving plant, requiring partial shade and able to tolerate deep shade. It prefers moist, occasionally dry, acidic soil. The plant stays green all winter. The branches are often used in Christmas decorations, although be warned that the plant requires a considerable time to recover. Club mosses are considered primitive because they reproduce by spores rather than by seeds. Many club mosses, including Common Ground Pine, send up “club-like” projections, called strobili, on which spore producing packages are formed. In addition to spores, club mosses spread by underground rhizomes that grow horizontally to produce additional small plants a few inches away. Club mosses are extremely slow growing and it can take up to 20 years to make another mature plant from spore production and spreading. Because of slow growth and the fact that they do not transplant well, these plants are not recommended for the home landscape. Diseases, Insect Pests, and Other Plant Problems: No known diseases or insect pests.

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 42 attributes.