Club moss

A ground-hugging plant from the Lycopodium family with needle-shaped, hairy leaves and widely creeping shoots, up to 30 cm high. There are up to 50 species in the Lycopodium family.

Phytotherapeutically, the herb of the clubmoss (Lycopodium clavatum) is mainly used, see Lycopodii herba.

Pharmaceutical industry: Lycopodium spores were formerly used in the manufacture of pills to prevent sticking.

Industry: Lycopodium spores (flash powder) were used in the manufacture of fireworks and as an explosion effect in the film industry. The spores, a yellowish, fine powder, burn in a fire with bright sparks, producing a lot of smoke and explosions.

In microscopy, the spores were used as a size comparison due to their constant diameter of 30 µm.

Lycopodium is a protected species in Germany and Austria.

1. Blaschek W (2015) Wichtl-Teedrogens and phytopharmaceuticals. A handbook for practice. Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft Munich. S 390-391
2. https://www.pascoe.de/wirkstoffe/detail/baerlapp.html