''Diphasiastrum alpinum'', the alpine clubmoss, is a species of

clubmoss Lycopodiopsida is a class of vascular plants known as lycopods, lycophytes or other terms including the component lyco-. Members of the class are also called clubmosses, firmosses, spikemosses and quillworts. They have dichotomously branching s ...

. It was first described by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

in his

Flora Lapponica ''Flora Lapponica'' (Amsterdam, 1737) is an account of the plants of Lapland written by botanist, zoologist and naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1788) following his expedition to Lapland. Over the period from 12 May 1732 to 10 September 1732, and ...

, 1737, from specimens obtained in Finland.

Distribution

It has a

circumpolar distribution A circumpolar distribution is any range of a taxon that occurs over a wide range of longitudes but only at high latitudes; such a range therefore extends all the way around either the North Pole or the South Pole. Taxa that are also found in isolat ...

across much of the northern parts of the Northern Hemisphere: much of Canada, the northwestern United States, northern and central Europe, Russia, China and Japan. It is an

indicator Indicator may refer to: Biology * Environmental indicator of environmental health (pressures, conditions and responses) * Ecological indicator of ecosystem health (ecological processes) * Health indicator, which is used to describe the health o ...

alpine tundra Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated alpine climate, harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alp ...

and boreal climates.Williams, Tara Y. 1990
''Lycopodium alpinum''
In: Fire Effects Information System, nline U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. It is found in mountains and moors often with ''

Calluna ''Calluna vulgaris'', common heather, ling, or simply heather, is the sole species in the genus ''Calluna'' in the flowering plant family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing evergreen shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found wide ...

'' and grasses.

Description

''Diphasiastrum alpinum'' grows tall from stems which grow just under the surface of the ground. The leaves are hollow at the bases. The female stems produce

strobili A strobilus (plural: strobili) is a structure present on many land plant species consisting of sporangia-bearing structures densely aggregated along a stem. Strobili are often called cones, but some botanists restrict the use of the term cone to th ...

up to long.''Lycopodium alpinum''.
Washington Burke Museum.Flora of China, ''Lycopodium alpinum'' Linnaeus, 1753. 高山扁枝石松 gao shan bian zhi shi song
/ref> ''Diphasiastrum alpinum'' may

hybridize Hybridization (or hybridisation) may refer to: *Hybridization (biology), the process of combining different varieties of organisms to create a hybrid *Orbital hybridization, in chemistry, the mixing of atomic orbitals into new hybrid orbitals *Nu ...

with ''

Diphasiastrum sitchense ''Diphasiastrum sitchense'', the Sitka clubmoss, is a pteridophyte species native to northern North America and northeastern Asia. It is a terrestrial herb spreading by stolons running on the surface or the ground or just slightly below the surfa ...

''.

References

External links

United States Department of Agriculture, Plants Profile
alpinum Flora of Europe Flora of Asia Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Flora of North America {{Lycophyte-stub