The tallest trees around are over one-hundred feet tall, with a curious bark texture that looks like a reptile’s scales. The air hums with the sound of a gigantic dragonfly with a wingspan as long as your arm. ![]() Enormous ferns and horsetails fill the wet primeval forest. The forests of the Carboniferous period 300 million years ago would have looked very alien to us. It’s an interesting coincidence because the ancient relatives of club mosses were enormous tree-like plants that dominated swampy forests millions of years before modern trees ever evolved. Some club mosses go by the common name “ground pine” because they resemble miniature conifer trees with their scaly or needle-like leaves. The same species photographed wild in Vermont. You might encounter them on a hike if you look low and pay attention to their short, upright stems emerging from the leaf litter. These long-lived evergreen plants are native to moist woodland habitats throughout North America. In some species, the spores are released from club-shaped structures that give the plants their nickname (visible on the specimen above). Like ferns, club mosses are seedless plants, which means they reproduce by releasing a large number of extremely tiny spores. So, if they’re not true mosses, then what are they? Club mosses belong to a Class of plants called Lycophytes, which are more closely related to ferns and other vascular plants. Scientific names help cut through vernacular confusion by providing a standardized language that can be used by all different speakers. ![]() Many species have multiple common names that vary by culture, dialect, or geographic region. Misleading nicknames are everywhere in botany. To make it easier for us pronunciation-wise, most species also have a common name, an unofficial nickname we can use for convenience. Dendrolycopodium dendroideum, seen here). ![]() Where does this confusion come from, you might ask? In the system of scientific classification, every species has an official scientific name, which is usually based in Latin or Greek (eg. ![]() Despite their fuzzy green appearance, they are not mosses at all. While dinosaurs and other giants come to mind, small and unassuming plants, like this club moss, can also tell exciting stories about the alien world of Earth’s deep past.Ĭlub mosses have a deceptive name. They transport our imaginations to a time when the land beneath our feet looked very different and starred a completely different cast of plants and animals. Some of the most visually striking organisms bear a resemblance to their extinct prehistoric relatives.
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