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Cycas revoluta

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= Diphasiastrum digitatum = From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Diphasiastrum digitatum is known as groundcedar, running cedar or crowsfoot, along with other members of its genus, but the common name fan clubmoss can be used to refer to it specifically. It is the most common species of Diphasiastrum in North America. It is a type of plant known as a clubmoss, which is within one of the three main divisions of living vascular plants. It was formerly included in the superspecies Diphasiastrum

complanatum. For many years, this species was known as Lycopodium flabelliforme or Lycopodium digitatum.

Its common name is due to its resemblance to cedar boughs lying on the ground. Its leaves are scale-like and appressed, like a mature cedar, and it is glossy and evergreen. It normally grows to a height of about four inches (10 cm), with the spore-bearing strobili held higher. This plant was once widely harvested and sold as Christmas greenery, and populations were widely depleted for this reason. However, it has greatly recovered throughout its range, and makes large clonal colonies, carpeting the forest floor.

It prefers disturbed areas and coniferous forests, where it makes dense monocultures. The subterranean, brown gametophytes may live for years in the soil before sending forth vegetative shoots. According to expert sources its range is in the higher Appalachian mountains northward, and its range ends in northern Georgia and Alabama, but isolated stands have sprung up elsewhere.

In the Appalachian Mountains of Southwest Virginia, the plant is known locally as "Bear's Paw."

This species was also once one of the principal clubmoss species used for collection of Lycopodium powder, used as a primitive flashpowder.

References[edit]

 * 1) ^ Family Lycopodiaceae, genus Lycopodium; world species list
 * 2) ^ United States Department of Agriculture Plants Profile
 * 3) ^ Biota of North America Program 2014 state-level distribution map
 * 4) ^ Flora of North America, Diphasiastrum digitatum (Dillenius ex A. Braun) Holub, 1975. Southern running-pine, lycopode en éventail

=  Diphasiastrum digitatum  =

= Contents = ·     1. Introduction

·     2. Description

·     3. Taxonomy

·     4. Distribution and Habitat

·     5. Uses

·     6. Cultivation

·     7. Etymology

·     8. References

= Introduction = Diphasiastrum digitatum is the accepted synonym of ''Lycopodium digitatum. D. digitatum,'' also known to be as Southern Ground Cedar, Fan Clubmoss, Running Pine, Running Ground Cedar. Diphasiastrum digitatum lacks flowers or seed and is classified as a Lycopod. They are commonly found in North America with a perennial life cycle and a sporulating season from July to October.

= Description = Diphasiastrum digitatum is a vascular plant that does not contain a significant amount of wood tissue above or at the ground. They may be annual, biennial, or perennial. The are low-growing usually measures about 0.5 m (1.5 feet) tall, but never exceeds 1 meter tall. Leaves are evergreen, which appears opposite and is arranged spirally with 4 evenly spaced leaves, when viewed from the side it appears as 4 columns. The branch leaves are green and shiny, the base extends down to the stem (decurrent) and the free portion at the tip pointed and scale-like. Branches are shaped rectangular in cross-section, flattened on the underside with the associated leaf much smaller that the rest. The largest leafs are lateral, the free portion appressed to spreading, and the leafs on the upper surface appressed and shown are more narrow. The stems are horizontally and are above ground or just below the surface of the duff layer. The erect shoots emerge, each contains 2 or more branches near the base. Branches are more likely ascending to spreading, forked and tree-liked, and most are arranged on the same plane, fan-like. Erect shoots can measure from 3 to 20 inches tall, although, vegetative shoots are typically less than 8 inches. Spores develop in a cone-like or structures referred as strobili. About 2 to 4 strobili (rarely more) are usually clustered at the tip of a long stalk which is referred as peduncle.

= Taxonomy = The species Diphasiastrum digitatum belongs to the Plantae Kingdom. Its Subkingdom is Trachaebionta, its division is Lycopodiophyta. It falls under the Lycopoiosida class, Lycopodiales order, Lycopodiaceae family and the genus is Lycopodium L.

= Distribution and Habitat =

Diphasiastrum digitatum is present in a dry to mesic and usually acid forests and openings. They are located in the eastern part of North America including parts of Canada such as Ontario and Quebec. Within the United states, they can be found in the eastern part excluding Florida and Louisiana as shown on the distribution map.There are a variety of habitats for Diphasiastrum digitatum, but they are usually found in a partially shaded, sun habitat that is moist to dry. Typically they are habitats such as open forest, thickets, fields. The fruiting season tends to be from July to October. Habitats include upland woodlands, bluffs, sandstone cliffs, and abandoned sandy fields. They tend to be found in wooded areas where you can also find oak trees and conifers.

= Uses = Clubmosses or Lycophytes have evolved about 410 million years ago as one of the earliest groups of the earliest groups of vascular plants. There are numerous ways in which it is used. It is used for medicinal, dyeing, pyrotechnic, and decorative purposes. Club moss spores and teas from plant leaves have been used since ancient times in both American Indian and European cultures. Medicinal uses included treating urinary tract problems, diarrhea and other digestive tract problems, relieving headaches and skin ailments, and inducing labor in pregnancy. In some cultures, the spores have been purported to be an aphrodisiac. The spores repel water and have been used as a powder on skin rashes and even on baby bottoms, and to treat wounds.They've been used before as coating of pills. In the Americas and Europe, it has been use as dyeing fabric. Spores are also highly flammable due to the high content of oil that it contains. They have been used culturally for ceremonial purposes when medicine men tossed the spores into a fire for a flash of light. The spores ignite with a bright flash of light and were used in flash photography, in stage productions, in fireworks and in chemistry labs. It is used for mainly bladder disorders, kidney disorders and other conditions. Although, more evidence is needed regarding effectiveness and safety.

= Cultivation = Diaphasiastrum digitatum is a representative of the early vascular plants. They can be grown with frequent application of weak fertilizer solution under bright light, high humidity, and year-round moderate temperatures in greenhouses, growth chambers, and laboratories. Although, Diphasiastrum digitatum is very difficult to cultivate in the garden. Transplants are rarely successful, and the development of mature plants from spores is very slow (taking perhaps 20 years). During its sexual phase, this species develops underground and requires the presence of appropriate fungi. It prefers a somewhat acidic soil that is sandy or rocky, dappled sunlight to light shade, and well-drained conditions.

= Etymology = Diphasiastrum: From the genus Diphasium and astrum for "incomplete resemblance;" so "false Diphasium".

= References =