Lycopodium fargesii Herter, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 43(1, Beibl. 98): 48. 1909; Huperzia fargesii (Herter) Holub; L. christensenianum Christ & Herter; L. fargesii var. gracile Tagawa; L. fauriei Rosenstock; L. quasiprimaevum Koidzumi; L. tereticaule Hayata; Urostachys christensenianus (Christ & Herter) Herter ex Nessel; U. fargesii (Herter) Herter ex Nessel; U. fauriei (Rosenstock) Herter; U. tereticaulis (Hayata) Herter ex Nessel.

Lycophytes, medium-sized. Stems caespitose, mature branches pendulous, 1 to several times forked, 30-52 cm, branches thin, stem together with leaves cordlike, tertiary branches with leaves ca. 2 mm in diam., lateral branches equal. Leaves twisted and forming 2 rows. Trophophylls dense, adnate to branches, much incurved, those of upper middle portion of plant lanceolate, less than 5 mm, ca. 3 mm wide, lustrous, midrib indistinct, hard, raised abaxially, base cuneate, decurrent, sessile, margin entire, apex acuminate. Strobili terminal on branches, 1.5-2.3 mm in diam. Sporophylls ovate and lanceolate, midrib indistinct, base cuneate, margin entire, apex with long tip or mucro. Sporangia exposed to outside of sporophylls, yellowish, reniform, vertically bisected.

Lateral branches of Phlegmariurus fargesii are equal in length, and its sporophylls are dimorphic and either ovate or lanceolate.

Epiphytic on tree trunks in forests; 100-1900 m. Chongqing, Guangxi, Sichuan, Taiwan, Yunnan (Guangnan, Maguan, Malipo, Xichou) [Japan].