Diphasiastrum complanatum(L.) Holub

complanate clubmossground cedartrailing ground-pinegroundcedar

WFO wfo-0001111176 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Diphasiastrum complanatum, photographed by Lyrae
fig. a Lyrae, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-05-29 / obs. 202706597

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 81 botanical countries

Regions where Diphasiastrum complanatum is native: Altay, Amur, Buryatiya, China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Inner Mongolia, Irkutsk, Japan, Kamchatka, Kazakhstan, Khabarovsk, Korea, Krasnoyarsk, Kuril Is., Mongolia, Primorye, Sakhalin, Tibet, Tuva, West Siberia, Xinjiang, Yakutiya, Assam, East Himalaya, India, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Austria, Baltic States, Belarus, Central European Russia, Czechia-Slovakia, Denmark, East European Russia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, North European Russia, Northwest European Russia, Norway, NW. Balkan Pen., Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, Greenland, Idaho, Labrador, Maine, Manitoba, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New York, Newfoundland, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, Oregon, Prince Edward I., Québec, Saskatchewan, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Yukon, Dominican Republic, Haiti AltayAmurBuryatiyaChina South-CentralChina SoutheastHainanInner MongoliaIrkutskJapanKamchatkaKazakhstanKhabarovskKrasnoyarskMongoliaPrimoryeSakhalinTibetTuvaWest SiberiaXinjiangYakutiyaAssamEast HimalayaIndiaMyanmarThailandVietnamAustriaBaltic StatesBelarusCentral European RussiaCzechia-SlovakiaDenmarkEast European RussiaFinlandGermanyHungaryItalyNorth European RussiaNorthwest European RussiaNorwayNW. Balkan Pen.PolandRomaniaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandUkraineAlaskaAlbertaBritish ColumbiaGreenlandIdahoLabradorMaineManitobaMichiganMinnesotaMontanaNew BrunswickNew HampshireNew YorkNewfoundlandNorthwest TerritoriesNova ScotiaNunavutOntarioOregonPrince Edward I.QuébecSaskatchewanSouth DakotaVermontWashingtonWisconsinWyomingYukonDominican RepublicHaiti Korea
Native distribution of Diphasiastrum complanatum, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Alaska ASK NORTHERN AMERICA
Alberta ABT
British Columbia BRC
Greenland GNL
Idaho IDA
Labrador LAB
Maine MAI
Manitoba MAN
Michigan MIC
Minnesota MIN
Montana MNT
New Brunswick NBR
New Hampshire NWH
New York NWY
Newfoundland NFL
Northwest Territories NWT
Nova Scotia NSC
Nunavut NUN
Ontario ONT
Oregon ORE
Prince Edward I. PEI
Québec QUE
Saskatchewan SAS
South Dakota SDA
Vermont VER
Washington WAS
Wisconsin WIS
Wyoming WYO
Yukon YUK
Altay ALT ASIA-TEMPERATE
Amur AMU
Buryatiya BRY
China South-Central CHC
China Southeast CHS
Hainan CHH
Inner Mongolia CHI
Irkutsk IRK
Japan JAP
Kamchatka KAM
Kazakhstan KAZ
Khabarovsk KHA
Korea KOR
Krasnoyarsk KRA
Kuril Is. KUR
Mongolia MON
Primorye PRM
Sakhalin SAK
Tibet CHT
Tuva TVA
West Siberia WSB
Xinjiang CHX
Yakutiya YAK
Austria AUT EUROPE
Baltic States BLT
Belarus BLR
Central European Russia RUC
Czechia-Slovakia CZE
Denmark DEN
East European Russia RUE
Finland FIN
Germany GER
Hungary HUN
Italy ITA
North European Russia RUN
Northwest European Russia RUW
Norway NOR
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Poland POL
Romania ROM
Spain SPA
Sweden SWE
Switzerland SWI
Ukraine UKR
Assam ASS ASIA-TROPICAL
East Himalaya EHM
India IND
Myanmar MYA
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
Dominican Republic DOM SOUTHERN AMERICA
Haiti HAI

Not drawn on the map: Kuril Is.. We hold no public-domain boundary for this region, so it is listed rather than guessed at.

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Where it actually grows measured, from 1,993 observations

Condition 5th percentile Median 95th percentile
Coldest month, mean daily low -24.1 °C -13.3 °C -4.5 °C
Warmest month, mean daily high 16.1 °C 21.9 °C 25.4 °C
Annual rainfall 450 mm 703 mm 1,658 mm
Rainfall in the driest quarter 53 mm 106 mm 260 mm

It is found where winters are severely cold. This is not care advice and it is not a forecast. It is a measurement: we sampled the climate at every one of the 1,993 research-grade observations of Diphasiastrum complanatum that carry a coordinate, and this is the range those places actually span. The 5th and 95th percentiles are used rather than the minimum and maximum, because a single cultivated specimen in a heated conservatory should not widen a tropical plant's range to the Arctic.

This is not a hardiness zone. A USDA zone is the average annual extreme minimum temperature. The figure above is the mean daily minimum of the coldest month, which is a different quantity and is typically far warmer. Reading one as the other would place a plant several zones too warm, so we do not publish a hardiness zone, because we do not have one.

Also published as 34 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Diphasiastrum complanatum f. montellii (Kukkonen) Feilberg
  • Diphasiastrum complanatum subsp. hastulatum (Sipliv.) Ivanenko & Tzvelev
  • Diphasiastrum complanatum var. dilatatum (Nakai ex H.Hara) Satou
  • Diphasiastrum hastulatum (Sipliv.) Stepanov
  • Diphasiastrum montellii (Kukkonen) Miniaev & Ivanenko
  • Diphasiastrum wilceae Ivanenko
  • Diphasium anceps (Wallr.) Á.Löve & D.Löve
  • Diphasium complanatum (L.) Rothm.
  • Diphasium complanatum subsp. anceps (Wallr.) Dostál
  • Diphasium complanatum var. montellii Kukkonen
  • Diphasium hastulatum Sipliv.
  • Diphasium wallrothii H.P.Fuchs
  • Lepidotis complanata (L.) P.Beauv.
  • Lycopodium anceps Wallr.
  • Lycopodium complanatum L.
  • Lycopodium complanatum f. brachypodum Fernald
  • Lycopodium complanatum f. canadense (Vict.) Porsild
  • Lycopodium complanatum f. complanatum
  • Lycopodium complanatum f. simplex Vict.
  • Lycopodium complanatum f. typicum Porsild
  • Lycopodium complanatum subsp. anceps (Wallr.) Asch. & Graebn.
  • Lycopodium complanatum subsp. complanatum
  • Lycopodium complanatum subsp. montellii (Kukkonen) Karlsson
  • Lycopodium complanatum subvar. foliaceum Farw.

and 10 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.