January 30 - Tiny Pines
Welcome to the Nature Notebook.

Ancient evergreens grow under winter’s snow. Like miniature pine trees, club mosses spread a patchwork of green over the forest floor. Ancestors of modern club mosses date back 400 million years. By the Coal Age, they were dominant plants and had developed into huge trees towering over 100 feet tall. Modern club mosses are just a shadow of their ancestors, standing only 7 to 12 inches tall. They are sometimes called ground pine. Names are misleading, however, for club mosses are neither mosses nor pines, but are closely related to ferns. They are not flowering plants, but instead produce spores and also spread by underground runners. Because of overharvesting, club mosses are not as common as they once were. They cling to certain sites, typically with moist, rich forest soil. They bring a wonderful touch of green to the winter landscape when free of snow.

This is PPL's naturalist, Jon Beam, with the Nature Notebook for WVIA.