''Phlegmariurus varius'', is a fir moss or club moss in the family
Lycopodiaceae
The Lycopodiaceae (class Lycopodiopsida, order Lycopodiales) are an old family of vascular plants, including all of the core clubmosses and firmosses, comprising 16 accepted genera and about 400 known species. This family originated about 380 mi ...
found in areas of
Australia,
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...
and associated islands. It has a number of
synonyms
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are ...
including ''Huperzia varia''.
[
''Phlegmariurus varius'' can grow on the ground and as a ]lithophyte
Lithophytes are plants that grow in or on rocks. They can be classified as either epilithic (or epipetric) or endolithic; epilithic lithophytes grow on the surfaces of rocks, while endolithic lithophytes grow in the crevices of rocks (and are als ...
or epiphyte. It can have one or many branches that are spirally arranged with slender leaves that narrow to a point. The plant varies from green to green-yellow and is sometimes orange in appearance. A recent article provides morphological and genetic evidence to separate ''Phlegmariurus billardierei'', the only species of Lycopodiaceae endemic to New Zealand, from ''P. varius''.