Have you ever been walking in the woods and noticed a fun-sized forest underfoot? Then you’ve spotted clubmoss, a native family of evergreen plants with an ancient past.
Having evolved approximately 400 million years ago (that’s more than 100 million years before dinosaurs!), clubmosses are some of the oldest species still on the earth today. Three hundred million years ago, they grew to be 100 feet tall; 130 years ago, their spores were used as flash powder for old-time photographs; and today, these tiny treasures are mostly known for bringing color to a winter forest floor.
Notably, clubmoss is a misnomer. True mosses do not have stems or roots, but our native clubmosses have both. Many clubmosses are protected plants in New York state, so be careful on your next forest walk to make sure you’re not traipsing on ancient history.
