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Species library › Selaginella › Selaginella serpens
Terrarium Partly documented

Selaginella serpens

A creeping spikemoss of the Greater Antilles and Lesser Antilles, most often recorded in Cuba and Jamaica. It forms flat, trailing mats on shaded, moist ground and rocks in forest from near sea level to about 1,100 m, and makes a good ground cover for a warm terrarium.

Selaginella serpens
Photo: Daderot, Public domain, 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

A prostrate, mat-forming Selaginella of shaded forest floors, banks and moist rocks in Caribbean forest; the records suggest it copes with a pronounced winter dry season by living in sheltered, moist spots.

Records from about 100 m to 1,100 m, median near 690 m.

CubaDominican RepublicJamaicaLeeward Is.Windward Is.

🔒 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 Public domain licence, unmodified.