Huperzia lucidula

A small, two-branched green plant in the center of the photo sprouts from a V-shaped gemma.

Dispersal through gemmae: a small Huperzia lucidula sprouts from a gemma.

Look at the base of this young shoot, and you can see that it sprouted from a gemma. I saw about five young shoots around this size in the immediate vicinity, on a steep oak-heath slope bare of leaf litter. I checked upslope and there were no colonies of H. lucidula, so it’s not clear where the gemmae dispersed from.

Observation Data

Classification & Common Names

Class: Lycopodiopsida
Family: Huperziaceae
Genus: Huperzia Bernh.
Species: Huperzia lucidula (Michx.) Trevis.
Var./Subsp.:
Common name(s): Shining clubmoss

General Observation Data

Date: 28-III-2015
Habitat: Oak Forest
Habit: Terrestrial

Additional Comments

Found on a steep slope covered by oak and beech forest with relatively little leaf litter. I went over the uphill slope fairly thoroughly looking for a parent colony, but didn't find one, so I'm not entirely sure how the gemma reached this point.