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Species library › Selaginella › Selaginella borealis
Terrarium Partly documented

Selaginella borealis

Selaginella borealis is a cold-hardy spikemoss of the Russian Far East, southern Siberia (Sayan Mountains, Tuva), Mongolia and north-eastern China. It grows among stones and rocks under a long, frozen continental winter. This is not a tropical terrarium plant: it needs an alpine trough or rock garden with a real winter dormancy.

Selaginella borealis
Photo: Lepetitcoinbotanique, 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 Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry
Light Bright, filtered lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restGrows on rock (lithophyte)

Where it grows wild

Labels describe it among stones in openings free of Pinus pumila (dwarf pine) scrub. Its records span river valleys and mountain slopes in the taiga and mountain zones.

Records with elevations run from 580 to 1,160 m (median about 770 m), and the Far East records extend down to low valley sites.

Russian Far EastSouthern Siberia (Sayan, Tuva)MongoliaNorth-eastern China

🔒 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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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.