Standley's spike-moss

Selaginella densa Rydberg var. standleyi (Maxon) R. M. Tryon

Plants terrestrial or on rock, forming cushionlike or rather short, loose mats. Stems decumbent to short-creeping, not readily fragmenting, irregularly forked, without budlike arrested branches, tips straight; main stem upperside and underside structurally slightly different, inconspicuously indeterminate, lateral branches radially symmetric, determinate, strongly ascending, 1-forked. Rhizophores borne on upperside of stems throughout stem length, 0.2--0.35 mm diam. Leaves monomorphic, in poorly defined pseudowhorls of 5 or 6, tightly appressed, ascending, green, linear, linear-oblong or linear-lanceolate, (2.5--)3--4.5 mm (smaller on upperside leaves and in ascending buds); abaxial ridges present; base decurrent, oblique, glabrous or rarely pubescent; margins short-ciliate to denticulate, cilia transparent, scattered, spreading to ascending, 0.05--0.07(--0.1) mm; apex keeled, obtuse, rather abruptly bristled; bristle usually yellowish or transparent to opaque, slightly puberulent or smooth, (0.4--)0.7--1.25 mm. Strobili solitary, 0.5--1(--2.3) cm; sporophylls deltate-ovate, rarely ovate-lanceolate, abaxial ridges well defined, base glabrous, margins short-ciliate to denticulate on distal 3/4, apex keeled, strongly truncate in profile, abruptly bristled.

Rock crevices, granitic outcrops, gravelly soil, bare soil, or alpine meadows; 2000--3700 m; Alta., B.C.; Alaska, Colo., Mont., Wyo.

R. M. Tryon (1955) reported an elevation range of 1500--4660 m for Selaginella standleyi . I have not seen specimens from these lower and higher elevations.

Selaginella standleyi is a member of the S . densa complex. It has sometimes been confused with S . watsonii and S . sibirica ; it is, however, rather easy to distinguish by leaf and strobilus characters.