#2340 - Phlegmariurus varius - Hanging Clubmoss
AKA Huperzia billardieri, desvauxii, novae-zelandica and varia, Lycopodium billardierei, flagellaria, novae-zelandicum, pachystachyum, phlegmaria, varium and selago var. varium, Urostachys billardieri and Urostachys varius. At least one of the botanists seems to have tried to forestall the taxonomic splitters by calling it 'variable' but judging by the range of synonyms there it doesn't look like it stuck, at least until the most recent revision. Phlegmariurus billardierei is now its own distinct species, as well, and the only one in the family endemic to New Zealand. varius is also found in Australia, and on some nearish islands. And it may have to be split into more species anyway, since some distinctive forms are stable in cultivation. As of June 2024, the Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World accepted over 300 species in the genus.
The colour varies from green to orange. Sterile ground-dwelling plants can be confused with other clubmosses, which probably contributed to some of the confusion above.
The Huperzioideae have erect rather than creeping growth forms, and their spore-bearing structures are in the axils of unmodified leaves, rather than in the terminal club-like structures that give other lycopods their common name.
It has 256 chromosomes.
Whakapapa Village, North Island Volcanic Plateau, New Zealand
