''Diphasiastrum complanatum'', common names groundcedar, creeping jenny, or northern running-pine, is a species of clubmoss native to dry coniferous forests in colder northerly parts of the world. Under the original name ''Lycopodium complanatum'', this was an inclusive superspecies that included a number of other species now known to be biologically separate. This plant is an

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

pteridophyte A pteridophyte is a vascular plant (with xylem and phloem) that reproduces by means of spores. Because pteridophytes produce neither flowers nor seeds, they are sometimes referred to as " cryptogams", meaning that their means of reproduction is ...

. The

spores In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plant ...

are produced June to September.

Description

''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. The stem can reach even over 100 cm in length with offshoots of 5-30 cm long which are upright that are flat at the top. The leaves are scale-like small and parallel to the stem. The sporangium are in long-stalked densely cylindrical spore cones. The shoots on the horizontal plane can take root and eventually form large colonies. Eino Oinonen studied a clonal colony in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

which measured in diameter.

Distribution

As the species is currently recognized, it has been found in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

, northern and central

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

including montane regions of the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, China, Japan, India, Thailand, and the northern United States.Flora of China, ''Lycopodium complanatum'' Linnaeus, 1753. 扁枝石松 bian zhi shi song
/ref>

Uses

In Finland ''Diphasiastrum complanatum'' has been used to dye wool in the past.

References

complanatum Flora of Northern America Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Flora of Europe Flora of Asia {{Lycophyte-stub