Selaginella watsonii

Watson's spike moss

Family: Selaginellaceae · Type: Spikemoss · Native

Watson's spike moss is a native spikemoss found in the Klamath Ranges, Trinity Alps, Sierra Nevada, Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges, northern Sierra Nevada East, White and Inyo Mountains, and northern Desert Mountains at elevations of 1,350 to 4,100 meters in open rocky sites, conifer forest, and alpine habitats. Growing in shaggy, dense cushions with a robust, braided appearance, this spikemoss transforms from green to orange-tan and eventually gray. Its stems feature lance-linear to oblong leaves 1.5 to 4 millimeters long, with distinctive thickened leaf tips and short rigid awns. The plant forms compact, intricate mats with closely positioned branches that nearly obscure the stem internodes. Producing small cones 5 to 35 millimeters long, Watson's spike moss is a resilient high-elevation botanical adaptation well-suited to rocky, exposed mountain environments.

Habitat: Open rocky sites, conifer forest, alpine

Elevation: 1350-4100 m

Bioregions: KR (Trinity Alps), SNH, TR, PR, n SNE, W&ampI, n DMtns (Telescope Peak)

California counties: Tulare, Tuolumne, Inyo, Riverside, San Bernardino, Alpine, Fresno, Kern, Madera, Mariposa, Mono, Los Angeles, Nevada, Placer, El Dorado, Amador, Plumas

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.