''Selaginella eremophila'' is a species of

spikemoss ''Selaginella'' is the sole genus of vascular plants in the family Selaginellaceae, the spikemosses or lesser clubmosses. This family is distinguished from Lycopodiaceae (the clubmosses) by having scale-leaves bearing a ligule and by having ...

known by the common name desert spikemoss.USDA Plants Profile
/ref> It is native to the deserts and adjacent mountains around the intersection of

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

with

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

.Jepson Manual Treatment
/ref> It grows in sandy and rocky habitat.Flora of North America
/ref> This

lycophyte The lycophytes, when broadly circumscribed, are a vascular plant (tracheophyte) subgroup of the kingdom Plantae. They are sometimes placed in a division Lycopodiophyta or Lycophyta or in a subdivision Lycopodiophytina. They are one of the oldest ...

forms dense mats of spreading stems with small, forking branches. The lance-shaped leaves are up to 3 millimeters long on the lower stem surfaces and a little shorter on the upper sides. The tiny leaves have pointed tips with soft, twisted bristles. The

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 ...

bearing the reproductive parts are under a centimeter long.

References

External links

Photo gallery
eremophila Flora of Arizona Flora of Baja California Flora of California Flora of North America {{Lycophyte-stub