''Lycopodium japonicum'' is a common species of plant in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Lycopodium ''Lycopodium'' (from Greek ''lykos'', wolf and ''podion'', diminutive of ''pous'', foot) is a genus of clubmosses, also known as ground pines or creeping cedars, in the family Lycopodiaceae. Two very different circumscriptions of the genus are i ...

'' in the clubmoss family. It is widespread in China, Japan and countries of Southern Asia. It has been used in

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...

for the treatment of sprains, strains and myasthenia, and research is ongoing into its efficacy. A type of

alkaloid Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Some synthetic compounds of similar ...

with an unusual structure, labelled lycojaponicumins A through E, were isolated from the plant in 2012.

References

Lycopodiaceae Medicinal plants Flora of Asia {{Lycophyte-stub