Club Moss (Ground Pine)

This is rare here and a very ancient plant. This small clump was among the damp woods.
Club Mosses have horizontal branching stems, both underground and above. These stems will send up shoots that will hold the flowering portion of the plant. The shoots can range from 1/2 inch high to over one foot. These plants produce spores in a cone like structure at the end of the stem. The spores are shed and they germinate on good soil. Once the spores germinate, they develop into a "thallus" which then produce male and female egg cells. These cells then reproduce to form the new plant. This process can be exceedingly slow, taking up to twenty years to complete.