Lycopodium fordii Baker, Handb. Fern Allies, 17. 1887; Huperzia fordii (Baker) R. D. Dixit; H. juniperistachya (Hayata) Holub; L. juniperistachyum Hayata; L. poissonii Herter; L. subdistichum Makino; Phlegmariurus longyangensis C. Y. Ma; P. nanus C. Y. Ma; P. yandongensis Ching & C. F. Zhang; Urostachys fordii (Baker) Herter ex Nessel; U. juniperistachys (Hayata) Herter ex Nessel; U. poissonii (Herter) Herter ex Nessel; U. subdistichus (Makino) Herter ex Nessel.

Lycophytes, medium-sized. Stems caespitose, mature branches pendulous, 1 to several times forked, 20-30 cm, stem together with leaves 1.2-2 cm wide. Leaves basally twisted and forming 2 rows. Trophophylls (at least basal leaves) amplexicaul, not lustrous, elliptic-lanceolate, 1-1.5 cm × 3-4 mm, leathery, midrib distinct, base rounded-cuneate, decurrent, sessile, margin entire, apex acuminate. Strobili slightly thinner than sterile part, terminal on branches. Sporophylls lanceolate or elliptic, 4-6 × ca. 1 mm, midrib distinct, base cuneate, margin entire, apex blunt. Sporangia yellowish, reniform, vertically bisected.

Japanese botanists (e.g., Nakaike, New Fl. Japan, 22. 1982; K. Iwatsuki, Ferns Fern Allies Jap. 46. pl. 4: 4. 1992) merged Phlegmariurus fordii with Lycopodium hamiltonii (here, P. hamiltonii). However, P. fordii has amplexicaul, non-lustrous leaves and is a Himalayan-Sino-Japanese species, while P. hamiltonii has lustrous leaves angled upward and is a Sino(W Yunnan)-Himalayan species.

The amplexicaul leaves are the most important character of Phlegmariurus fordii.

Epiphytic in shaded places in bamboo forests, cliffs in valleys, on rocks in shrubs or forests; 100-1700 m. Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, S Hunan, S Jiangxi, Taiwan, Yunnan (Cangyuan, Jinghong, Menghai, Menglian), Zhejiang [India (E Himalaya), Japan].