Diphasiastrum complanatum

Diphasiastrum complanatum
Conservation status
Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Lycopodiophyta
Class:	Lycopodiopsida
Order:	Lycopodiales
Family:	Lycopodiaceae
Genus:	Diphasiastrum
Species:	D. complanatum
Binomial name
Diphasiastrum complanatum (L.) Holub
Synonyms[1][2]
Diphasium anceps Á. Löve & D. Löve Diphasium complanatum (L.) Rothm. Diphasium wallrothii H.P. Fuchs Lepidotis complanata (L.) P. Beauv. Lycopodium complanatum L. Stachygynandrum complanatum (L.) C. Presl

Diphasiastrum complanatum,^[3] common names Creeping Jenny or Northern Running-pine, is a species of clubmoss native to dry coniferous forests throughout the Holarctic Kingdom. Under the original name Lycopodium complanatum, this was an inclusive superspecies that included a number of other species now known to be biologically separate. As the species is currently recognized, it is known from every province and territory in Canada except Nunavut, as well as from Greenland, northern Europe, Siberia, St. Pierre and Miquelon, and the US states of Alaska, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota.^[4][5]

Diphasiastrum complanatum is a perennial herb spreading by means of stolons that run along the surface of the ground. Above-ground stems tend to branch within the same geometric plane (hence the specific epithet "complanatum," meaning "same plane"). Strobili are vertical borne in groups of up to 4 at the ends of some of the branches.^[6]

References