3. L. inundàtum, L. Dwarf; creeping sterile stems forking, flaccid; the fertile solitary (1–4´ high), bearing a short thick spike; leaves lanceolate or lance-awl-shaped, acute, soft, spreading, mostly entire, those of the prostrate stems curving upward.—Var. Bigelòvii, Tuckerm., has fertile stems 5–7´ high, its leaves more awl-shaped and pointed, sparser and more upright, often somewhat teeth-bearing.—Sandy bogs, northward, not common; the var., eastern New Eng. to N. J., and southward. Aug. (Eu.)
4. L. alopecuroìdes, L. Stems stout, very densely leafy throughout; the sterile branches recurved-procumbent and creeping; the fertile of the same thickness, 6–20´ high; leaves narrowly linear-awl-shaped, spinulose-pointed, spreading, conspicuously bristle-toothed below the middle; those of the cylindrical spike with long setaceous tips.—Pine-barren swamps, N. J. to Va., and southward. Aug., Sept.—Stems, including the dense leaves, ½´ thick; the comose spike, with its longer spreading leaves, ¾–1´ thick.
[*][*] Leaves (bracts) of the catkin-like spike scale-like, imbricated, yellowish, ovate or heart-shaped, very different from those of the sterile stems and branches.
[+] Spikes sessile (i.e. branches equally leafy to the top), single.
5. L. annótinum, L. Much branched; stems prostrate and creeping (1–4° long); the ascending branches similar (5–8´ high), sparingly forked, the sterile ones making yearly growths from the summit; leaves equal, spreading, in about 5 ranks, rigid, lanceolate, pointed, minutely serrulate (pale green); spike solitary, oblong-cylindrical, thick.—Var. púngens, Spring, is a reduced sub-alpine or mountain form, with shorter and more rigid pointed erectish leaves.—Woods; common northward; the var. on the White Mountains, with intermediate forms around the base. July. (Eu.)
6. L. obscùrum, L. Rootstock cord-like, subterranean, bearing scattered, erect, tree-like stems dividing at the summit into several densely dichotomous spreading branches; leaves linear-lanceolate, decurrent, entire, acute, 6-ranked, those of the two upper and two lower ranks smaller and appressed, the lateral ones incurved spreading; spikes 1–10, erect, mostly sessile; bracts scarious-margined, broadly ovate, abruptly apiculate.—Var. dendroídeum (L. deudroideum, Michx.) has all the leaves alike and incurved spreading.—Moist woods. Aug.—Remarkable for its tree-like appearance.
L. alpìnum, L., or its var. sabinæfòlium, occurs from Labrador to Washington Territory, and is to be expected in northern Maine and Minn. It has slender branches with rigid nearly appressed leaves.
[+][+] Spikes peduncled, i.e. the leaves minute on the fertile branches.
[++] Leaves homogeneous and equal, many-ranked; stems terete.
7. L. clavàtum, L. (Common Club-Moss.) Stems creeping extensively, with similar ascending short and very leafy branches; the fertile terminated by a slender peduncle (4–6´ long), bearing about 2–3 (rarely 1 or 4) linear-cylindrical spikes; leaves linear-awl-shaped, incurved spreading (light green), tipped, as also the bracts, with a fine bristle.—Dry woods; common, especially northward. July. (Eu.)