Selaginella helvetica(L.) Spring

WFO wfo-0001276519 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Selaginella helvetica, photographed by Christian Berg
fig. a Christian Berg, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-05-01 / obs. 195026363
Selaginella helvetica, photographed by carnifex
fig. b carnifex, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 125361988
Selaginella helvetica, photographed by Christian Berg
fig. c Christian Berg, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 126661433
Selaginella helvetica, photographed by Christian Berg
fig. d Christian Berg, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 126289246
Selaginella helvetica, photographed by antrum
fig. e antrum, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 105872123
Selaginella helvetica, photographed by Irene Saltini
fig. f Irene Saltini, CC0 1.0 / obs. 90233797
Selaginella helvetica, photographed by Christian Berg
fig. g Christian Berg, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 101505230
Selaginella helvetica, photographed by antrum
fig. h antrum, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 69577503

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 36 botanical countries

Regions where Selaginella helvetica is native: Amur, Buryatiya, China North-Central, China South-Central, Chita, Inner Mongolia, Iran, Japan, Khabarovsk, Korea, Krasnoyarsk, Kuril Is., Manchuria, Mongolia, North Caucasus, Primorye, Qinghai, Taiwan, Tibet, Transcaucasus, Türkiye, East Himalaya, Nepal, West Himalaya, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia-Slovakia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, NW. Balkan Pen., Romania, Switzerland, Ukraine AmurBuryatiyaChina North-CentralChina South-CentralChitaInner MongoliaIranJapanKhabarovskKrasnoyarskManchuriaMongoliaNorth CaucasusPrimoryeQinghaiTaiwanTibetTranscaucasusTürkiyeEast HimalayaNepalWest HimalayaAustriaBelgiumBulgariaCzechia-SlovakiaFranceGermanyGreeceItalyNW. Balkan Pen.RomaniaSwitzerlandUkraine Korea
Native distribution of Selaginella helvetica, 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
Amur AMU ASIA-TEMPERATE
Buryatiya BRY
China North-Central CHN
China South-Central CHC
Chita CTA
Inner Mongolia CHI
Iran IRN
Japan JAP
Khabarovsk KHA
Korea KOR
Krasnoyarsk KRA
Kuril Is. KUR
Manchuria CHM
Mongolia MON
North Caucasus NCS
Primorye PRM
Qinghai CHQ
Taiwan TAI
Tibet CHT
Transcaucasus TCS
Türkiye TUR
Austria AUT EUROPE
Belgium BGM
Bulgaria BUL
Czechia-Slovakia CZE
France FRA
Germany GER
Greece GRC
Italy ITA
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Romania ROM
Switzerland SWI
Ukraine UKR
East Himalaya EHM ASIA-TROPICAL
Nepal NEP
West Himalaya WHM

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.

Also published as 26 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.

  • Bernhardia helvetica (L.) Gray
  • Diplostachyum helveticum (L.) P.Beauv.
  • Diplostachyum radicans (Schrank) P.Beauv.
  • Heterophyllium helveticum (L.) Börner
  • Lepidotis radicans (Schrank) P.Beauv.
  • Lycopodioides helvetica (L.) Kuntze
  • Lycopodioides mariesii (Baker) Kuntze
  • Lycopodium helveticum L.
  • Lycopodium radicans Schrank
  • Selaginella helvetica f. heliophila Dalla Torre
  • Selaginella helvetica f. umbrosa Dalla Torre
  • Selaginella helvetica subsp. banatica Gand.
  • Selaginella helvetica subsp. caucasica Gand.
  • Selaginella helvetica subsp. curvula Gand.
  • Selaginella helvetica subsp. dacica Gand.
  • Selaginella helvetica subsp. demota Gand.
  • Selaginella helvetica subsp. hackelii Gand.
  • Selaginella helvetica subsp. insubrica Gand.
  • Selaginella helvetica subsp. istriaca Gand.
  • Selaginella helvetica subsp. jucunda Gand.
  • Selaginella helvetica subsp. laeta Gand.
  • Selaginella helvetica subsp. legitima Gand.
  • Selaginella helvetica subsp. similis Gand.
  • Selaginella helvetica var. vera Sandford

and 2 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. 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.