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

Related categories for Species: Lycopodium obscurum | Ground Pine