BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Lycopodium alpinum | Alpine Clubmoss 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Alpine clubmoss, a native perennial forb, is similar to its congener
Lycopodium sitchense, and the two species sometimes hybridize.  The
erect stems grow 4 to 8 inches (10-20 cm) high.  The leaves are hollow
at the base.  The creeping stems are found slightly beneath the soil
surface [4,10,12].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Undisturbed State:  Cryptophyte (geophyte)
   Burned or Clipped State:  Cryptophyte (geophyte)


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Alpine clubmoss reproduces via spores produced by the sporophyte.  A
spore, in a favorable spot, swells with water and bursts, putting forth
a slender, branching, many-celled green thread, called a gametophyte.
At maturity the gametophyte produces eggs and sperm.  The sperm require
water (e.g. dew or rain) to swim to the egg.  The fertilized egg remains
in the archegonium on the female plant, eventually developing into a
sporophyte.  At maturity the sporophyte shoots forth, bursting the
archegonium and releasing spores.  The sporphyte, derived from a
fertilized egg, is a diploid organism [16].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Alpine clubmoss is a subalpine-alpine species.  It is shade intolerant
and grows in nonforested heath communities or on rocky slopes in open
coniferous woods [4,6,12].  Alpine clubmoss is associated with Mertens
cassiope (Cassiope mertensiana), mountain luetkea (Luetkea pectinata),
pink mountain heath (Phyllodoce empetriformis), and other oxylophytic
species [6].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
NO-ENTRY


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Alpine clubmoss bears mature cones in late July and August [8].

Related categories for Species: Lycopodium alpinum | Alpine Clubmoss