Species library › Selaginella › Selaginella bigelovii
Terrarium Well documented

Selaginella bigelovii

Bushy spikemoss

Selaginella bigelovii, the bushy spikemoss, is a tufted, upright spikemoss of rocky ground in California and Baja California, from the coast inland to mountains and desert edges. It is a Mediterranean-climate plant: green and growing in the cool wet winter, then curling up and drying to brown through the rainless summer before reviving with rain. It suits a bright, airy rock-garden pot or open dish, not a closed tropical terrarium.

Selaginella bigelovii
Photo: Anthony Valois, and the National Park Service, Public domain, 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

Herbarium labels place it on rock outcrops, boulder bases, shallow rocky soil and canyon banks in chaparral, coastal sage scrub, oak woodland and grassland, on sandstone, volcanic and serpentine rock. Many collections note north-facing slopes, shaded arroyo banks or seep margins, but it also grows on open sunny outcrops.

Specimen elevations run from near sea level to about 1,200 m, most commonly 200 to 800 m (median about 530 m).

United States (central and southern California)Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur)

🔒 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 bigelovii? 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 Public domain licence, unmodified.