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Apressed Bog Clubmoss

Lycopodiella appressa (ly-ko-poh-dee-EL-la ap-PRESS-uh)

Family: Lycopodiaceae Native Herbaceous (1-3 ft)

Southern Bog Clubmoss is an evergreen, herbaceous perennial, clubmoss found in boggy areas, swamps and savannas of the eastern United States and Canada. It is a North Carolina native, although relatively rare in the Piedmont and the mountains. At maturity, it will reach around 12 inches tall and 16 inches wide. It is not a flowering plant, but is a seedless plant composed of sterile and fertile stems. The sterile stems are close to the ground and spread horizontally supported by adventitious roots. The fertile stems are upright and topped with a spore-producing structure. Southern Bog Clubmoss does best in consistently wet, sandy, acidic soil in partial shade. To cultivate, you should place a thin layer of peat on moist sand and water with rain water or distilled water, taking care to avoid alkaline or hard water. 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, 34 attributes.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 4 - Herbaceous (1-3 ft) Optimal soil pH Neutral (6.0-8.0)
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.

No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.

Also noted by NC State

Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Plant type
Fern; Herbaceous Perennial; Native Plant; Water Plant
Life cycle
Perennial
USDA zones
3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b
Light
Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Sand
Soil pH
Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Moist | Occasional Flooding | Occasionally Wet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 0 ft. 5 in. - 1 ft. 0 in. | Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 1 ft. 6 in.
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (1-3 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Arching; Clumping; Horizontal
Foliage
Needled Evergreen
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Needles; Simple
Leaf margin
Dentate
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
The leaves are small, needle-like, coarsely toothed, and close to the stem. The fertile leaves are longer and perpendicular to the stem.
Flower detail
The plant does not flower.
Fruit detail
Spores display from July to September.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
Eastern Canada and United States, south to Cuba
Distribution
Central United States to Texas.
Food & Medicine
Harvest time
Summer
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Pond
Landscape theme
Native Garden; Shade Garden; Water Garden
Garden tags
#swamps #wet soils tolerant #Piedmont Mountains FACW #Coastal OBL #food source summer #Audubon #spores #boggy sites #NC native #rare #subshrub #evergreen
Problems & Resistance
Resistant to
Wet Soil
Particularly resistant to
Heat tolerant.

Planted at Hunnicutt

Nobody’s planted this one yet.