Rock Firmoss
Huperzia porophila
Found in cliffs, ledges and rocky summits. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 88%
- Height
- 4–6 inches
- Light
- Full shade
- Soil moisture
- Moist to wet
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source
Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- June to September
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 3 Alabama counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement.
Cliffs, ledges and rocky summits

Habitats
Cliffs, ledges and rocky summits.
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. All habitats
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 20 animals.
- American KestrelFalco sparverius
- Bald EagleHaliaeetus leucocephalus
- Bank SwallowRiparia riparia
- Belted KingfisherMegaceryle alcyon
- Chimney SwiftChaetura pelagica
- Cliff SwallowPetrochelidon pyrrhonota
- Common NighthawkChordeiles minor
- Dark-eyed JuncoJunco hyemalis
- Eastern PhoebeSayornis phoebe
- Eurasian Collared-doveStreptopelia decaocto
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Great Horned OwlBubo virginianus
- Lark SparrowChondestes grammacus
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
- Northern Rough-winged SwallowStelgidopteryx serripennis
- Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
- Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis
- Rock PigeonColumba livia
- Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatus
- Turkey VultureCathartes aura
Who uses this plant?
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Lycopodium
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Huperziaceae
- Flower color
- Not applicable
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “June to September” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Not applicable” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “4–6 inches” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Light · “Full shade (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Lycopodium porophilum; Rock Clubmoss; clubmoss
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | S1 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G4 |
| AL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Alabama Plant Atlas
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- FloraQuest: South Central (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- FloraQuest: Northern Tier (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications





















