Fir clubmoss

About

Fir clubmoss is a relative of clubmosses but looks different. It has no long creeping stems: the plant forms a dense bunch of upright shoots 5–25 cm tall, which fork several times. The shoots are densely covered with stiff dark green needle-like leaves and resemble small fir branches stuck into moss.

Fir clubmoss also has no spikes. The sporangia — small yellowish "buds" — sit in the axils of the ordinary leaves along the upper part of the shoot. Additionally, reproductive buds grow at the tips: they fall off and give rise to new plants. Fir clubmoss grows very slowly and lives for decades.

In the Carpathians, it occurs in moist spruce forests, on mossy rocks and stone debris, in crooked forests and on polonynas — from the forest to the alpine belt. In the Ukrainian Carpathians, naturalists often record it, but the plants are few everywhere.

Fir clubmoss is poisonous. It contains alkaloids that cause severe vomiting, disruption of heart function, and nervous system issues. In folk medicine, it was once used as an emetic, and this often ended in severe poisoning. Collecting and consuming the plant is prohibited.

The species is listed in the Red Book of Ukraine with the status of "not evaluated." Collecting it is forbidden, so we only show its distribution at the level of mountain ranges on the website.

Where in the Carpathians

Orange — where naturalists recorded the species (GBIF, CC0/CC BY). It occurs only locally, so we draw no approximate range; a blank area does not mean it is absent. For rare and vulnerable species the map is deliberately coarse (hexagons of ~250 km² or more) so that it never points to dens, nests or growing sites.

Countries

Ukraine · Slovakia · Romania · Poland · Czechia

Mountain ranges

Chornohora, Pokuttia-Bukovina Carpathians, Gorgany, Maramureș Mountains, Bieszczady, Skole Beskids. In other countries: 🇸🇰 High Tatras, 🇸🇰 Western Tatras, 🇸🇰 Low Tatras, 🇸🇰 Lesser Fatra, 🇸🇰 Greater Fatra, 🇸🇰 Belianske Tatras, 🇵🇱 Żywiec Beskids, 🇸🇰 Slovak Ore Mountains

Altitude belts

Beech forests (600–1200 m) · Conifer forests (1200–1600 m) · Subalpine belt (1600–1900 m) · Alpine belt (above 1900 m)

When to see it

From naturalists’ observations in the Carpathians (iNaturalist, research grade): the darker the cell, the more often the species is seen that month.

Safety

The entire plant is poisonous: it causes severe vomiting and disruption of heart function. Do not collect or consume. In case of suspected poisoning, call 103 (or 112).

Protection and rules

Listed in the Red Book of Ukraine (not evaluated). Collecting is prohibited.

Admire, don’t pick: plants listed in the Red Data Book of Ukraine — and any plants in nature reserves and strictly protected zones of national parks — must not be collected.

Red Data Book of Ukraine

FAQ