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Terrarium Well documented

Selaginella arizonica

Arizona spikemoss

Arizona spikemoss is a mat-forming desert resurrection plant from the Sonoran Desert region of Arizona, west Texas and northwest Mexico. It grows in rock crevices, on ledges and on gravel, usually on north-facing slopes. It curls up grey and dry during drought and greens within hours of rain, so it needs bright light, a gritty mineral substrate and wet-dry cycles, not a closed humid terrarium.

Selaginella arizonica
Photo: Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Dry airBand in Plantistry
Light Bright, filtered lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restGrows on rock (lithophyte)

Where it grows wild

Rock crevices, ledges, cliffs and open gravelly or rocky areas on igneous, volcanic or sandstone rock, rarely limestone. Observers often find it on north-facing slopes, in shadier spots between rocks and in washes. It forms loose, prostrate mats; the branch tips curl upward when dry and unroll after rain.

Flora of North America gives 600–2,000 m; the Arizona treatment in Canotia gives 600–1,700 m.

United StatesMexico

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

Grow Selaginella arizonica? Add it to a free garden and its full profile opens. Pro opens all 38,374 profiles in the library, plants and fungi.

Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, unmodified.