Despite the rain this morning Tom decided to brave the weather and return to Chobham Common in search of marsh clubmoss (Lycopodiella inundata). This summer we saw marsh clubmoss at one of the few Cumbrian localities near Torver - click here -, where it had full upright shoots but no mature cones (strobili). Tom really wanted to see it this time of year in one of its strongholds, the northern Thames Basin, because there would be mature yellow cones before it dies back to small shoots for winter.
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| Three fertile stems with cones (yellow) which arise from the horizontal vegetative stems (green). |
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| Two cones poking through the water- hence the species name 'inundata' in the scientific name. |
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| Fertile and vegetative stems. |
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| A vegetative stem with other associated plants and lichen. |
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| The general habitat: at this one site the clubmoss was restricted to the edges of deeper pools on firmer terrain. |
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| The wet heathland habitat: left: natural wet runnels and right: a man-made scrape. |
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| Marsh clubmoss cones poking through with water. |
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| Marsh clubmoss fully inundated with water. |
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