|
|
CLUB
MOSS
(Lycopodium clavatum)
Stag's horn, wolf claw
Description:
Toxic, evergreen, moss-like, trailing stems, upright branches.
Small, stiff, linear, green leaves, tipped with white bristles,
1-2 club-like spikes or cones are encased in the yellow spores.
Spikes appear on a long, slender stalk from the end of branch.
U.S. in dry coniferous forests and acid soils.
Medicinal,
Toxic: American Indians knew of the spores' blood-stanching,
wound-healing and moisture-absorbing properties. Spores were used
as a powder to stop nosebleeds, bleeding from wounds, to absorb
fluids from damaged tissue in various injuries, in gastric and
urinary disorders, an antispasmodic sedative and to coat pills.
The plant itself is poisonous, but the spores are not.
|
