Selaginella hansenii

Hansen's spikemoss

A small, mat-forming spikemoss endemic to the foothills of central California, with tightly pressed, white-bristled leaves that are often tinged or spotted red. It grows on cliffs, rock outcrops and rocky slopes in oak and pine foothill woodland, where it is green through the cool, wet winter and dries, curls and goes dormant through the long, hot, rainless summer. It is not a humid-terrarium plant: grow it on rock or in a gritty mix, bright and airy, with a dry summer rest.

Selaginella hansenii — Photo: John Game, CC BY 2.0, 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

Flora of North America gives cliffs and rocky slopes or igneous rock. Specimen labels describe rock ledges, crevices in outcrops of granite, metamorphic rock, quartzite and volcanic rock, open rocky places in blue oak (Quercus douglasii) woodland, and both open and shady slopes, including north-facing outcrops.

Flora of North America gives 330–1350 m. GBIF specimens with elevations run from about 35 m to 1950 m, median about 460 m.

California: Sierra Nevada foothillsCalifornia: southern Cascade Range foothillsCalifornia: Central Coast RangesCalifornia: Tehachapi Mountains and southern Central Valley margins

🔒 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 2.0 licence, unmodified.