08 December 2015

Princess Pine

While looking for the elusive Odocoileus virginianus (), I came across a small patch of Princess Pine (Lycopodium obscurum), also known as ground moss and clubmoss.

Princess pine gets its name from its resemblance to various conifers. However, its above-ground parts are rarely more than 6 inches tall. Princess Pine spreads by producing branching rhizomes that produce the above ground shoots. Princess Pine is harvested and used to make Christmas wreaths and garlands, but it grows very slow and a wreath represents about 25 years' growth of plants taken from the wild.

From 1946 to 1983 the town of New Albany, PA was known as the "Wreath Capital of the World" and the Herman Rynveld's wreath factory would purchase locally harvested Princess Pine for making wreaths. The large patches of Princess Pine are now gone but slowly recovering. New York State has placed it on the Protected Native Plants list.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

My dad and mother and myself work here i wish it was still here it was close to home.