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Species library › Selaginella › Selaginella longipinna
Terrarium Well documented

Selaginella longipinna

Electric fern

A spikemoss found only in the Wet Tropics of north-eastern Queensland, where it forms dense stands up to 40 cm tall in rainforest, usually near streams. It is a shade-loving plant of warm, humid forest floors. It wants constant moisture, soft light and stable warmth, and does not want to dry out.

Selaginella longipinna
Photo: coenobita, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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 grows on the ground in rainforest and closed forest, usually close to creeks and streams, where it can carpet banks in dense cover up to about 40 cm high. The air near the ground there stays humid and the soil stays moist.

The 57 records with an elevation span 5–1079 m, median 440 m. It occurs from 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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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 4.0 licence, unmodified.