Diphasiastrum sitchense

(Ruprecht) Holub

Preslia 47: 108. 1975.

Common names: Sitka club-moss lycopode de Sitka
Basionym: Lycopodium sitchense Ruprecht Beitr. Pflanzenk. Russ. Reiches 3: 30. 1845
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 2.

Horizontal stems on substrate surface or shallowly buried, 1–2.7 mm wide; leaves appressed, broadly lanceolate, 1.8–3.2 × 0.5–1 mm, apex blunt. Upright shoots clustered and branching mostly at base, 5.5–17.5 cm; leaves appressed, broadly lanceolate, 1.8–3.2 × 0.5–1 mm, apex acuminate. Branchlets dark green, somewhat shiny, round in cross section, 1.7–2.5 mm wide, annual bud constrictions inconspicuous. Leaves on branchlets monomorphic, 5-ranked, not overlapping, appressed to spreading-ascending, incurved, free portion of blades 3.4–5.6 × 0.4–0.9 mm, widest at middle, apex sharply pointed. Peduncles absent or rarely 1 cm. Stalks absent. Strobili solitary on upright shoots, 4.5–38 × 3–5 mm, gradually narrowing to rounded tip. Sporophylls deltate, 1.8–3.6 × 1.7–2.8 mm; apex rounded. 2n = 46.


Habitat: Alpine meadows, open rocky barrens, conifer woods
Elevation: 200–2000 m

Distribution

V2 277-distribution-map.gif

Greenland, St. Pierre and Miquelon, Alta., B.C., Man., N.B., Nfld. and Labr., N.S., Ont., P.E.I., Que., Sask., Yukon, Alaska, Idaho, Maine, Mont., N.H., N.Y., Oreg., Vt., Wash., Asia in Kamchatka, Japan.

Discussion

The mature shoots in Diphasiastrum sitchense resemble the juvenile phases of the other species. The unique, round, 5-ranked leaves may represent an early developmental state.

The hybrid Diphasiastrum alpinum X sitchense is very rare. It is known from Greenland, British Columbia, Newfoundland, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Specimens of D. sitchense from Greenland, Newfoundland, and Washington cited by J. H. Wilce (1965) are actually this hybrid.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.
... more about "Diphasiastrum sitchense"
Warren H. Wagner Jr. +  and Joseph M. Beitel +
(Ruprecht) Holub +
Lycopodium sitchense +
Sitka club-moss +  and lycopode de Sitka +
Greenland +, St. Pierre and Miquelon +, Alta. +, B.C. +, Man. +, N.B. +, Nfld. and Labr. +, N.S. +, Ont. +, P.E.I. +, Que. +, Sask. +, Yukon +, Alaska +, Idaho +, Maine +, Mont. +, N.H. +, N.Y. +, Oreg. +, Vt. +, Wash. +, Asia in Kamchatka +  and Japan. +
200–2000 m +
Alpine meadows, open rocky barrens, conifer woods +
Diphasiastrum sitchense +
Diphasiastrum +
species +