Florapass
English
Issler's Clubmoss

Issler's Clubmoss

Diphasiastrum complanatum

Identify the Issler's Clubmoss from a photo and log your finds with Florapass.

Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play.

How common: Common

Issler's Clubmoss is a low, evergreen clubmoss that forms flat, yellow‑green sprays on the forest floor. Long creeping stems run under the leaf litter and send up many branched shoots 10–30 cm tall. You most often see it in light pine forests and other dry to moderately dry heaths.

Did you know?

  • Its tiny leaves sit in four neat rows, which makes each branch look flattened.
  • It has been used traditionally to make a yellow dye for fabrics.

About the species

Identification

Low, evergreen spore plant with creeping stems hidden in the litter. Upright shoots 10–30 cm, repeatedly forked, spreading sideways into flat, fan‑like sprays that are yellow‑green. Leaves are tiny, scale‑like and pressed to the stem; they form four lengthwise rows, with the side rows larger so the shoots look clearly flattened. Tips may carry pale yellow, club‑like spore heads on short stalks. Compared with other clubmosses, it is clearly flatter and more yellow‑green rather than round and bushy.

Plant group

Ferns, horsetails and clubmosses

Habitat

heath forest, fell

About the habitat

Grows in dry to fresh conifer woods, especially light pine forests and sandy heath ridges; prefers fairly open, well‑lit places. Widespread across Finland; rather rare in Lapland.

Sources

Photo: WRadies, CC BY 4.0 https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/6185875056

Text: Pinkka: BIO-503 Suomen kasvisto ja kasvillisuus - Metsät: kuivat kankaat, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.37699

Text: Pinkka: Metsälajintuntemus - Sanikkaiset, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.37699

Text: Pinkka: BIO-514 Pohjois-Suomen putkilokasvit - Saniaiset ja liekokasvit, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.37699

Text: Pinkka: Kasvien talvi - Talvivihreät luonnonkasvit, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.37699

Text: Pinkka: Kasvien lajintuntemus, Itä-Suomen yliopisto - Liekomaiset ja saniaismaiset, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.37699

Text: Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keltalieko

See also