Selaginella australiensis

A low, much-branched spikemoss endemic to the Wet Tropics of north-east Queensland, where it forms mats on damp, shady stream banks in rainforest. It wants what most tropical Selaginella want: steady warmth, very high humidity, low light and a medium that never dries. It is a good ground cover for a closed tropical terrarium.

At home, aim for

Day Warm-growingTargets in Plantistry

Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry

Humidity Humid airBand in Plantistry

Light ShadeDLI and PPFD in Plantistry

No rest periodGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

It is terrestrial in damp, shady places in rainforest and closed forest, typically along stream banks, forming low, much-branched mats on soil and rock.

GBIF elevations run from 10 to 914 m with a median of 141 m (53 records), so it spans the coastal lowlands up onto the Atherton Tablelands.

Queensland

🔒 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

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More Selaginella

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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.