Willdenow’s Spikemoss

Overview

Selaginella willdenowii  is native to Malaysia, Indonesia and Myanmar, and introduced to Colombia, Florida, Jamaica, Panamá, Puerto Rico, and Queensland. Genus Selaginella is derived from the Latin word selago, which means clubmoss. Species willdenowii is most likely named in honor of Carl Ludwig von Willdenow (1765 - 1812), who was a German naturalist and physician, Director of Berlin Botanical Garden and author of Flora Berolinensis prodromus (1787). It is used as traditional medicine and vegetable in some Asian countries.

Vernacular Names

Teng juan bai (Chinese).

Agroecology

Found naturally on the forest floors, under shrubs; below 100-1,000 m, its preference for low light and moist conditions makes Willdenow’s Spikemoss a suitable house plant and good groundcover in shady conditions.

Morphology

• Roots - uderground fibrous roots.
• Rhizophores - restricted to lower part of main stem or up to upper part, with some spinelike protuberances at base (as well as at axes of stems).
• Stem - main stems branched from near base upward, stramineous or reddish, 2.4-3.5 mm in diam. in lower part, angulate, sulcate, glabrous. Primary leafy branches 5-15 pairs, 3 times pinnately branched, ultimate branches simple or forked, branchlets sparse and regular, adjacent primary branches on main stem 6-13 cm apart, ultimate branches 3-7 mm wide including leaves.
• Leaves - axillary leaves on main stems obviously larger than those on branches, oblong, biauriculate. Axillary leaves on branches symmetrical, oblong or oblong-elliptic, 1.5-2.4 × 1-1.6 mm, base biauriculate, margin entire. Dorsal leaves asymmetrical, those on main stems obviously larger than those on branches. Dorsal leaves on branches approximate to imbricate, overlapping at leaf apex, falcate, 0.9-1.4 × 0.4-0.6 mm, not carinate, base obliquely subcordate, margin entire, apex obtusely cuspidate. Ventral leaves asymmetrical, those on main stem obviously larger than those on branches. Ventral leaves on branches slightly ascending or spreading, distant or approximate, oblong-falcate, 2.8-4 × 1-1.5 mm, margin entire, apex obtuse. Acroscopic base with rounded auricle, not overlapping stem and branches.
• Strobili - solitary, terminal, compact, tetragonal, 5-35 × 1.8-3.8 mm. Sporophylls unlike sterile leaves, uniform, white-margined, suborbicular, margin entire, apex acute or cuspidate. Megasporophylls in middle on lower side of strobilus. Microsporangia orbicular, rather thin, cells regular. Microspores pale yellow, megaspores whitish.

Cultivation

• Generatively propagated by spores.
• Vegetatively propagated by stem cutting and division.

Chemical Constituents

Alkaloids, terpenoids, phenolic compounds (flavonoids [isocryptomerin, 4',7''-di-O-methyl-amentoflavone, bilobetin, 2'',3''- dihydro-isocryptomerin, robustaflavone, 7''-O-methyl-robustaflavone], tannins, saponins).

Traditional Medicinal Uses

• It is depurative or stomachic.
• In Indonesia, it is used in decoction as a protective medicine after childbirth and as an ingredient of tonic as well as to treat skin disease such as itches and ringworm, to treat wounds and menstrual pains.
• In Malaysia, leaf decoction is used to treat wounds, high fever and backache, as well as being used as tonic medicine.
• In Brunei, it is used to treat gastric pains and infections of urinary tracts.
• In India, leaf infusion is administered to treat high fever and its ashes are used as liniment for backache.