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Meadow Spikemoss

Selaginella apoda

Also listed as Lycopodioides apodum

Found in seepages, bogs, spray cliffs, stream margins, wet meadows, marsh edges, wet spots in lawns, other moist habitats. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

11
Modest

Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 76%

Light
Partial shade, Full shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Moist to standing water
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
June to October

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Leaves

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 82 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 6

Seeps and springs

Weymouth Woods Gum Swamp Trail seep
Groundwater seep. Shown: Gum Swamp Trail, Weymouth Woods, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Weymouth Woods Gum Swamp Trail seep, ncwetlands.org, undated. CC BY 2.0. Source record.

Cliffs, ledges and rocky summits

Sassafras Mountain rock outcrop
Rock outcrop on a mountain summit. Shown: Sassafras Mountain, on the North Carolina and South Carolina line, a neighboring state.Sassafras Mountain rock outcrop, Alan M. Cressler / U.S. Geological Survey, undated. Public domain. Source record. Faithful JPEG display decode of embedded JP2; no AI or color enhancement. Phone derivative resized proportionally.

Streams, rivers and their banks

Watauga Falls
Named place / source context. Shown: Watauga Falls, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Watauga Falls, Illustrator/engraver not confidently attributed; reproduced in Zeigler and Grosscup, The Heart of the Alleghanies (1883), 1883. Public domain. Source record.

Wet meadows

Open, wet, grassy or sedgy ground that is not a bog.

Freshwater marshes

Open, herb-covered wetlands with fresh, non-tidal water.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

0CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Selaginella

  • Dendragapus obscurusDusky Grouse
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Selaginellaceae
Flower color
Not applicable

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Creeping Spike Moss; Lycopodioides apodum; Meadow Spike Moss

Conservation status

Virginia rankS5
Global rankG5
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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How to check your spot

Sources