Stiff Clubmoss
Spinulum annotinum
Found in high elevation hardwood or coniferous forests. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
8
Modest
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Height
- About 1 foot
- Light
- Partial shade, Full shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to wet
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- August to October
- Fruiting season
- Summer to fall
JFMAMJJASOND
Not yet recorded · Spread
Recorded in 11 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 100 animals.
- Blue GrosbeakPasserina caerulea
- Blue-winged WarblerVermivora pinus
- Broad-winged HawkButeo platypterus
- Cerulean WarblerDendroica cerulea
- Chimney SwiftChaetura pelagica
- Double-crested CormorantPhalacrocorax auritus
- Downy WoodpeckerPicoides pubescens
- Eastern KingbirdTyrannus tyrannus
- Golden-winged WarblerVermivora chrysoptera
- Gray CatbirdDumetella carolinensis
- Louisiana WaterthrushSeiurus motacilla
- Northern FlickerColaptes auratus
- Northern MockingbirdMimus polyglottos
- Northern ParulaParula americana
- Red-headed WoodpeckerMelanerpes erythrocephalus
- Summer TanagerPiranga rubra
- White-breasted NuthatchSitta carolinensis
- Worm-eating WarblerHelmitheros vermivorum
- Yellow-billed CuckooCoccyzus americanus
- Carolina WrenThryothorus ludovicianus
- Chuck-will's-widowCaprimulgus carolinensis
- Common YellowthroatGeothlypis trichas
- Indigo BuntingPasserina cyanea
- Magnolia WarblerDendroica magnolia
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
0CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claimNo records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Lycopodiaceae
- Flower color
- Green
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Growth habit
- Spreads by runners
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Summer
- Fruit ends
- Fall
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “August to October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit ends · “Fall” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth habit · “Spreads by runners” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Height · “About 1 foot” · USDA PLANTS (ranked first; Minnesota Wildflowers differs) · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Leaf retention · “Deciduous” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Light · “Partial shade; Full shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Dry; Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S3? |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Choose a county to begin.
Growing cautions
- Spreads by runners. USDA PLANTS lists its growth form as stoloniferous. USDA PLANTS
For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.
Sources
- Virginia DCR Natural Heritage rare plant list
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- 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