Lycophytes: Lycopodiales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Huperzia porophila
FAMILY
Huperziaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Huperzia from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina website.
Read about the ancient and interesting fern allies known as clubmosses from the Prince William Wildflower Society.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Huperzia porophila
FAMILY
Lycopodiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Huperzia porophila
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 003-01-003:
Lycopodium porophilum FAMILY Lycopodiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Ferns of the Southeastern States (Small, 1938)
Lycopodium porophilum
COMMON NAME:
Rock Clubmoss, Rock Firmoss
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_lypo_001_lvd
)
Jim Fowler jaf_hporophila_01
May Rabun County GA
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Jim Fowler jaf_hporophila_02
May Rabun County GA
Clustered stems 5-6" tall, erect or with a curved base and erect tip, per Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America.
)
Jim Fowler jaf_hporophila_03
May Rabun County GA
)
Jim Fowler jaf_hporophila_04
May Rabun County GA
Largest leaves are narrow and long, smallest are triangular, widest at base, per Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Huperzia porophila
FAMILY
Huperziaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Huperzia porophila
FAMILY
Lycopodiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Huperzia porophila
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 003-01-003:
Lycopodium porophilum
FAMILY
Lycopodiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Ferns of the Southeastern States (Small, 1938)
Lycopodium porophilum
2646
Fern/Fern ally
Perennial
Habitat: rock outcrops and cliffs, especially in the spray of waterfalls, at low to medium elevations, usually on sandstone or felsic metamorphic or metaigneous rocks (acidic schists, gneisses, granitic gneisses), and most characteristically on ledges or in crevices in overhung settings along the cliff face where the plants receive little or no direct sunlight, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Rare
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Evergreen
Simple - lanceolate
Leaves in tight bushy spirals (annual constrictions slight, perhaps not visible)
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Ferns of Alabama (Short & Spaulding, 2012) p061
- Ferns of the Smokies (Evans, 2005) p25
- Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America p312
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".