Skip to main content

Nodding clubmoss (Lycopodiella cernua)

Paku kawat or clubmoss or nodding clubmoss (Lycopodiella cernua) is plant species, terrestrial herbs with main stems creeping indefinitely, rooting at long intervals and at least 40 varieties have been described that are difficult to distinguish.

L. cernua has erect shoots and resembles small pine trees up to 100 cm tall, green and yellow, distal has many branches and arranged opposite, very compound with the ultimate whitish branch and nods down.

Dlium Nodding clubmoss (Lycopodiella cernua)

The leaves are arranged in a spiral, linearly circulated, 2-5 mm long, 0.1-0.3 mm wide, wide widened base, sharp pointed apices, overall margins, thick and stiff but soft, gradually changing from patent-reflexes and somewhat deep on the shoot axis to rise and approach the ultimate branches.

Conical structures that produce spore terminals on branches, sessile, ovoid to ellipsoid, 3-25 long and 1.5-5 mm wide. Sporophylls ovate become deltoid, 2x1 mm, rough and irregularly cut edges and yellowish or greenish.

Sporangium globose, opening with a valve that is very unequal and hidden by the sporophil base. Spores clot with a three-pronged scar and are slightly wrinkled. Nodding clubmoss produces spores throughout the year, but spends the dry season as the tip of the stem is buried while the rest of the plant dies.

The life cycle is somewhat different from true ferns because spores only germinate when covered in soil and total darkness. As they germinate, spores give rise to fleshy gametophytes that contain male and female sex organs.



Paku kawat grow on the edges of forests, secondary forests, margins of swamps, wet grasslands, moist cliff surfaces, hill slopes and mountain slopes to an altitude of 2400 m. Not found in areas with annual rainfall less than 600 mm.

This plant contains alkaloids such as cernuine and lycocernuine, flavonoids apigenin and apigenin-7-glucoside, triterpene serratenediol and aluminum concentrations up to 12.5%. Injections to mice are effective for silicosis. More research into pharmacological potential is needed, considering that many facts have been applied in traditional medicine in many places.

L. cernua applied to wound dressing, anti-lice, as a tonic, overcoming neuralgia, hypertension, ulcers, beriberi, cough and asthma, gum problems, abscesses, diuretics, gout, rheumatic swelling, skin irritation, gonorrhea, vaginal discharge, dysentery, hepatitis and burns.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Lycopodiopsida
Order: Lycopodiales
Family: Lycopodiaceae
Subfamily: Lycopodielloideae
Genus: Lycopodiella
Species: Lycopodiella cernua

Comments

Popular

Indian rosewood (Dalbergia latifolia)

Sonokeling or Java palisandre or Indian rosewood ( Dalbergia latifolia ) is a species of plant in the Fabaceae, a large tree producing hardwood, medium weight and high quality, rounded leaves, thin and broad pods, highly adaptive, grows in dry and rocky landscapes with lots of sunlight. D. latifolia has medium to large size, cylindrical stems, up to 40 m high with a ring of up to 2 m, the bark is brownish gray and slightly cracked longitudinally. The crown is dense, dome-shaped and sheds leaves. The leaves are compound and pinnate oddly with 5-7 strands that have different sizes and appear alternately on the shaft. The leaves are round or elongated in width or heart, the upper surface is green and the surface is pale green. The flowers are small, 0.5-1 cm long and clustered in panicles. The pods are green to brown when ripe and are elongated lanceolate, pointed at the base and tip. The pods have 1-4 seeds which are soft and brownish. Indian rosewood grows at elevations below 600 m,

Soapbush (Clidemia hirta)

Senggani bulu or soapbush or Koster's curse ( Clidemia hirta ) is a species of tropical plants, perennial shrubs, grows as high as 0.5-3 m, but sometimes reaches 5 m in more shady habitat, young stems are round and covered with hair, stiff, reddish brown. C. hirta has simple leaves arranged opposite to the stem, oval-shaped in a wide line at the base with a pointed tip and almost entirely to a smooth jagged margin. The upper surface is rarely covered with hair, while the lower surface has thick hair. The leaves have a rather tangled appearance and five main veins are straight, curved and spread in parallel from the base of the leaf to the tip. Minor veins spread transversely and straightly that connect the five main veins. The flowers are arranged in small clusters at the ends of branches, growing on very short stems and having five white petals or sometimes pale pinks. The base of the flower is covered with a mixture of coarse and sticky hair, five sepals but these are ver

Melinjo (Gnetum gnemon)

Melinjo or belinjo or tangkil ( Gnetum gnemon ) is a species of gymnosperms in Gnetaceae, dioecious, tree-shaped, living wild but also widely planted in the yard as a shade or barrier where seeds, seed coat and young leaves are processed into food. G. gnemon is a tree and has a straight trunk, this is different from other Gnetum which is usually a liana. Annual plants with open seeds, do not produce true flowers and fruit. Fake fruit is basically a seed wrapped in a layer of aryl fleshy. Single leaf oval and blunt tip. Melinjo live for more than 100 years, 25 m tall and produce 80-100 kg of seeds per harvest. They adapt to a wide temperature range and are very easy to find in various areas except the coast. Grows in forests, plantations and home gardens. Plants are propagated by generative and vegetative methods. Belinjo can be found in arid, tropical regions and does not require highly nutritious soils or special climates. Grow on clay, sandy and calcareous soil at an altitude of