Introductory
SPECIES: Lycopodium obscurum | Ground Pine 



ABBREVIATION : 
LYCOBS

SYNONYMS : 
   


SCS PLANT CODE : 
   LYOB


COMMON NAMES : 
   ground pine
   groundpine clubmoss


TAXONOMY : 
The currently accepted scientific name of ground pine is Lycopodium
obscurum L.   

There are two recognized varieties:  Lycopodium obscurum var. isophyllum
and Lycopodium obscurum var. obscurum [11].



LIFE FORM : 
Fern or Fern Ally

FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : 
No special status

OTHER STATUS : 
Ground pine is rare in northwestern Montana.  It is at the southern
periphery of its range in this area.  In Montana, ground pine occurs
only in the vicinity of Glacier National Park near Lake McDonald in
Flathead County [15,22].


COMPILED BY AND DATE : 
Tara Y. Williams, May 1990


LAST REVISED BY AND DATE : 
NO-ENTRY


AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : 
Williams, T. Y. 1990.  Lycopodium obscurum.  In: Remainder of Citation

DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Lycopodium obscurum | Ground Pine 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
The distribution of ground pine is circumpolar and transcontinental in
boreal North America.  It is distributed south to Washington, northern
Idaho, northwest Montana, Indiana, Alabama, and North Carolina [13].


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES10  White - red - jack pine
   FRES11  Spruce - fir
   FRES15  Oak - hickory
   FRES18  Maple - beech - birch
   FRES22  Western white pine
   FRES23  Fir - spruce


STATES : 
     AK  AL  CT  ID  IN  KY  MA  ME  MI  MN
     MT  NC  NH  NJ  NY  OH  PA  RI  TN  VA
     VT  WA  WI  AB  BC  MB  NB  ON  PQ  SK


ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS : 
     ACAD  APIS  BISO  BLRI  CACO  CUGA
     CUVA  DEWA  GATE  GLAC  GRSM  INDU
     ISRO  JOFL  MORR  NOCA  OBRI  PIRO
     RICH  SARA  SHEN  SLBE  VOYA  YUCH


BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
    1  Northern Pacific Border
    2  Cascade Mountains
    5  Columbia Plateau
    8  Northern Rocky Mountains
   16  Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K013  Cedar - hemlock - pine forest
   K015  Western spruce - fir forest
   K095  Great Lakes pine forest
   K096  Northeastern spruce - fir forest
   K099  Maple - basswood forest
   K100  Oak - hickory forest
   K102  Beech - maple forest
   K106  Northern hardwoods


SAF COVER TYPES : 
     1  Jack pine
     5  Balsam fir
    12  Black spruce
    15  Red pine
    21  Eastern white pine
    22  White pine - hemlock
    23  Eastern hemlock
    24  Hemlock - yellow birch
    25  Sugar maple - beech - yellow birch
    26  Sugar maple - basswood
    60  Beech - sugar maple
   215  Western white pine


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
Ground pine occurs in cool, boreal forests.  It has not been listed as a
community dominant.  It is listed as an indicator of cool temperature
climates, fresh and very moist soils, nitrogen-poor soils, and Mor humus
(compacted forest floors) [13].

VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Lycopodium obscurum | Ground Pine 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Ground pine contains poisonous alkaloids and livestock should be kept
away from sites where it is common [10].


PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
There is low evaporation from soils with a good Lycopodium cover, so it
may provide a good microclimate for other seedlings to develop [18].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Clubmosses can make attractive ground covers, but they do not transplant
well.  Many Lycopodium species have been collected for commercial
purposes and are subsequently becoming rare.  They are best left
undisturbed in the wild [9].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Rare populations should be located and potential threats, such as
trampling by human visitors, should be determined [15].  In general, if
temperatures become warmer and the forest becomes drier, this species
would be expected to decrease.  However, in one case, the species
increased shortly after logging [20].

BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Lycopodium obscurum | Ground Pine 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Ground pine is a native, perennial, evergreen clubmoss.  It has long
rhizomes which give rise to scattered aerial stems.  Branches may grow
1 to 8 inches (2-20 cm) long.  Leaves are 2.5 to 5 mm long and up to 1 mm
wide [9,21].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Undisturbed State:  Hemicryptophyte
   Burned or Clipped State:  Hemicryptophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Ground pine reproduces primarily vegetatively by sprouting from
rhizomes.  It also produces spores and a subterranean, mycorrhizal
gametophyte [9].  The main colonization period is June through September
[7], but it tends to decrease toward the drier part of the season [20].
Spores are produced in August [22].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Ground pine grows mainly on moist forest floors, often with
maple-basswood (Acer spp.-Tilia spp.) or mixed pine-hardwoods.  It grows
at cool temperatures, will tolerate low nutrients, and can withstand a
wide range of light conditions [1,13].  It grows on well-drained organic
soils, often on sandy loams [17,18,20].  In Kentucky, the species was
found only in the vicinity of the highest peaks, which were as high as
2,800 feet (854 m) [23].

Ground pine can comprise a significant part of the understory.  More
commonly, it accounts for less than one percent ground cover.  It may
grow in small groups or patches [4,12,17].

Species commonly associated with ground pine include blueberry
(Vaccinium spp.), raspberry (Rubus spp.), oakferns (Dryopteris spp.),
bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum), bunchberry (Cornus canadensis), and
glacier lily (Erythronium grandiflorum) [3,4,7,12,18,20].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Ground pine is considered a mid-seral species.  It occurs in forest
stands 10 to 30 years old [17] and will decline in very old stands [20].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
NO-ENTRY

FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Lycopodium obscurum | Ground Pine 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
Ground pine regenerates by sprouting from rhizomes [9].  Rhizomes
present in the litter layer are likely to be damaged by fire.  However,
if underground rhizomes survive, the plant may recover after a burn [3].


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   survivor species; on-site surviving rhizomes

FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Lycopodium obscurum | Ground Pine 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
The aboveground portion of ground pine is killed by fire.  Rhizomes
present in the litter layer are also killed, but deeper rhizomes will
survive [3].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Ground pine sprouts from rhizomes following fire [3].  In one case, it
was observed in the fifth growing month after a burn, which was actually
about a year later.  The fire was categorized as one of low severity;
soil was moist, but fine fuels were dry enough to burn.  The area was
sprinkled after burning to prevent burning of organic matter in the
rhizome and root zone [7].  The presence of ground pine has been
recorded in stands 10 to 30 years after fire [17].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Since ground pine declines in very old forest stands, it may be
advisable to maintain stands where it is found at a younger stage.  In
areas where the species is very rare, reestablishment after a fire may
be difficult.

References for species: Lycopodium obscurum

1. Bakuzis, E. V.; Hansen, H. L. 1962. Ecographs of shrubs and other undergrowth species of Minnesota forest communities. Minnesota Forestry Notes. 117: 1-2. [10316]

2. Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p. [434]

3. Chapman, Rachel Ross; Crow, Garrett E. 1981. Application of Raunkiaer's life form system to plant species survival after fire. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. 198(4): 472-478. [617]

4. Collins, B. S.; Pickett, S. T. A. 1982. Vegetation composition and relation to environment in an Allegheny hardwoods forest. The American Midland Naturalist. 108(1): 117-123. [9044]

5. Dittberner, Phillip L.; Olson, Michael R. 1983. The plant information network (PIN) data base: Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. FWS/OBS-83/86. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. 786 p. [806]

6. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]

7. Flinn, Marguerite A.; Wein, Ross W. 1988. Regrowth of forest understory species following seasonal burning. Canadian Journal of Botany. 66: 150-155. [3014]

8. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others]. 1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]

9. Hitchcock, C. Leo; Cronquist, Arthur; Ownbey, Marion. 1969. Vascular plants of the Pacific Northwest. Part 1: Vascular cryptograms, gymnosperms, and monocotyledons. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press. 914 p. [1169]

10. Hu, Tingmo; Chandler, R. F. 1987. Obscurinine: a new lycopodium alkaloid. Tetrahedron Letters. 28(48): 5993-5996. [12768]

11. Kartesz, John T.; Kartesz, Rosemarie. 1980. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. Volume II: The biota of North America. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press; in confederation with Anne H. Lindsey and C. Richie Bell, North Carolina Botanical Garden. 500 p. [6954]

12. Kittredge, J., Jr. 1934. Evidence of the rate of forest succession on Star Island, Minnesota. Ecology. 15(1): 24-35. [10102]

13. Klinka, K.; Krajina, V. J.; Ceska, A.; Scagel, A. M. 1989. Indicator plants of coastal British Columbia. Vancouver, BC: University of British Columbia Press. 288 p. [10703]

14. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York: American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]

15. Lesica, Peter. 1984. Rare vascular plants of Glacier National Park, Montana. Missoula, MT: University of Montana, Department of Botany. 27 p. [12049]

16. Lyon, L. Jack; Stickney, Peter F. 1976. Early vegetal succession following large northern Rocky Mountain wildfires. In: Proceedings, Tall Timbers fire ecology conference and Intermountain Fire Research Council fire and land management symposium; 1974 October 8-10; Missoula, MT. No. 14. Tallahassee, FL: Tall Timbers Research Station: 355-373. [1496]

17. MacLean, David A.; Wein, Ross W. 1977. Changes in understory vegetation with increasing stand age in New Brunswick forests: species composition, cover, biomass, and nutrients. Canadian Journal of Botany. 55: 2818-2831. [10106]

18. Maguire, D. A.; Forman, R. T. 1983. Herb cover effects on tree seedling patterns in a mature hemlock-hardwood forest. Ecology. 64(6): 1367-1380. [9620]

19. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]

20. Sidhu, S. S. 1973. Early effects of burning and logging in pine-mixedwoods. II. Recovery in numbers of species and ground cover of minor vegetation. Inf. Rep. PS-X-47. Chalk River, ON: Canadian Forestry Service, Petawawa Forest Experiment Station. 23 p. [8227]

21. Standley, Paul C. 1921. Flora of Glacier National Park, Montana. Contributions from the United States National Herbarium. Vol. 22, Part 5. Washington, DC: United States National Museum, Smithsonian Institution: 235-438. [12318]

22. Lesica, P.; Moore, G.; Peterson, K. M.; Rumely, J. H. 1984. Vascular plants of limited distribution in Montana. Monograph No. 2. Proceedings, Montana Academy of Sciences. 43(Supplement): 1-61. [11656]

23. Levy, Foster; King, Veda; Ousley, Clara; [and others]. 1983. The ferns and fern allies of Pike County, Kentucky. Transactions of the Kentucky Academy of Science. 44(1-2): 14-16. [11498]

24. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1994. Plants of the U.S.--alphabetical listing. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 954 p. [23104]

Related categories for Species: Lycopodium obscurum | Ground Pine