Species · genus Selaginella · Selaginellaceae

Blue Spike-moss

Selaginella uncinata (Desv. ex Poir.) Spring

Also known as: Blue Spikemoss · Peacock Spike-moss · Rainbow-fern · Rainbow-moss · Peacock Fern

Growth habit

perennial or subshrub

Native range

China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Myanmar, Vietnam

Reference · S. uncinata

Cultivars of S. uncinata

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under S. uncinata yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

Selaginella uncinata is a creeping spikemoss from the humid, shaded forest floors of southern China and Southeast Asia, not a true fern but an ancient lycophyte with the same love of moist, sheltered ground. It wants consistently damp (never soggy) mix and high humidity; water when the surface just begins to feel dry to the touch, before the foliage shows any sign of crisping. Give it indirect, filtered light away from direct sun, which scorches its delicate fronds.

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified

Light: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water: ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 2-5d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Medium light

Water

≈ every 5 days

Humidity

High

Temperature

15–24 °C

Soil mix

Humus-rich, moisture-retentive mix kept consistently damp

Propagation

Division or rooted stem tips in damp mix

Fertilizing

Dilute balanced feed monthly during active growth

Growth rate

Moderate

Flowering

Non-flowering — a spikemoss reproducing by spores

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Not yet documented

This is where toxicity lives — every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

No reference gallery yet

A few clear photos — habit, a mature leaf, a flower if it blooms — would give this page its eyes.

Add images

Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 2-5d) · ai:claude-fable-5

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Blue Spike-moss yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — is exactly what keeps this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.