Selaginella gigantea
A remarkable spikemoss from Venezuela's coastal mountains. It is the only Selaginella that grows as a true shrub, up to about 2 m tall, with very small leaves. It is known only from wet evergreen forest on steep slopes above the RÃo San Gián near Borburata in Carabobo, at 600–750 m. It needs warm, shaded, very humid conditions and a lot of space, so a large greenhouse or tall enclosure suits it better than a small terrarium.
Where it grows wild
Steep, forested slopes beside a stream running into the RÃo Borburata (RÃo San Gián), in wet, primary, evergreen forest. It grows as an upright shrub in the forest understory near the watercourse. Leaves are no more than about 5 mm long, and strobili are up to 2 cm long.
Specimen labels give 600–750 m, and most measured records are at 725 m.
🔒 Growing it like that
The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:
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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.