Green Spikemoss: A Rare Texas Treasure for Your Native Garden
Meet the green spikemoss (Selaginella viridissima), a fascinating little plant that’s been quietly thriving in Texas for millions of years. This isn’t your typical garden moss – it’s actually an ancient vascular plant that belongs to a group called lycopods, making it more closely related to ferns than true mosses. Think of it as a living fossil that’s perfectly adapted to the Lone Star State!
What Makes Green Spikemoss Special?
Green spikemoss is a perennial plant that forms delicate, bright green carpets across limestone outcroppings. Despite its moss-like appearance, it’s technically classified as a forb – a vascular plant without woody tissue that keeps its growing points at or below ground level. This ancient lineage gives it a unique charm that’s hard to find in modern garden plants.
What really sets this plant apart is its incredible rarity. Green spikemoss has a Global Conservation Status of S2, meaning it’s imperiled with typically only 6 to 20 known occurrences and few remaining individuals. This makes every specimen precious and worth protecting.
Where Does Green Spikemoss Call Home?
This Texas native is found exclusively in the Lone Star State, making it a true endemic species. It thrives in the limestone-rich areas of Central Texas, where it has adapted to the specific soil chemistry and climate conditions over countless generations.
Should You Grow Green Spikemoss in Your Garden?
Here’s where things get interesting – and important. While green spikemoss can be a stunning addition to the right garden, its rare status means you should only consider growing it if you can source it responsibly. Never collect this plant from the wild, as doing so could harm the already vulnerable wild populations.
If you can find ethically propagated green spikemoss from a reputable native plant nursery, it can be a wonderful choice for:
- Specialized native Texas plant collections
- Rock gardens with limestone features
- Educational gardens focused on rare and endemic species
- Conservation-minded landscapes
Growing Conditions and Care
Green spikemoss is quite particular about its living conditions, which explains why it’s found in such specific locations in the wild. Here’s what it needs to thrive:
- Soil: Well-draining limestone-based soil with good drainage
- Light: Partial shade to filtered sunlight
- Water: Minimal watering once established; drought-tolerant
- Climate: USDA hardiness zones 8-9 (perfect for Texas gardeners!)
The key to success is mimicking its natural limestone habitat. If your garden doesn’t naturally have limestone soil, you may need to amend your planting area or consider container growing with appropriate substrate.
Wildlife and Pollinator Benefits
Unlike flowering plants, green spikemoss doesn’t attract pollinators since it reproduces through spores rather than flowers. However, it can provide habitat for small invertebrates and adds to the biodiversity of native plant communities. Its main value lies in its contribution to Texas’s unique botanical heritage.
A Plant Worth Protecting
Growing green spikemoss isn’t just about adding an unusual plant to your garden – it’s about participating in conservation. By choosing to grow rare native species like this one (when responsibly sourced), you’re helping preserve Texas’s botanical diversity and supporting the nurseries that work to propagate these special plants.
Remember, with great plants comes great responsibility. If you’re lucky enough to grow green spikemoss, consider yourself a steward of one of Texas’s most precious botanical treasures. And who knows? You might just inspire others to appreciate and protect these amazing living links to our planet’s ancient past!
