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African Clubmoss

Selaginella kraussiana, Selaginellaceae

Sources last read 14 September 2026.

Not yet rated How forgiving it is has not been judged here yet.

Also called Club Moss, Cushion Moss, Irish Moss, Japanese Moss, Krauss' Spikemoss, Krauss's Clubmoss, mat spike moss, Moss Fern, Spikemoss, Spreading Club Moss, spreading clubmoss, Trailing Irish Moss, trailing spike moss and Tropical Moss.

African Clubmoss (Selaginella kraussiana), the whole plant.
JMK, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Toxicity is partly unassessed

  • Listed as non-toxic to cats by ASPCA.
  • Listed as non-toxic to dogs by ASPCA.
  • Not assessed for people. RHS publishes no harm statement for this plant. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.

What the sources say about its care

Light
Full shade, Partial shade
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Water
Moist but well-drained
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Humidity

No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.

ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%
Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Temperature

How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.

H2 — 1–5°C 1–5 °C
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Soil
Loam; pH Acid or Neutral
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to cats
Non-toxic
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to dogs
Non-toxic
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Harmful to people
No statement of harm to people is published for this plant; that absence is not evidence it is safe.
RHS · read 13 September 2026

Routine care

Watering
Use water at room temperature; the plant can go into shock from cold water.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Propagation
Divide it, or root stem cuttings in moist soil.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Sow ripe spores at 21°C. In spring, divide rhizomes or stems that have rooted.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Pruning
Pruning is not needed.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Pests and diseases
Usually free of pests and diseases.
RHS · read 13 September 2026

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Close view of African Clubmoss (Selaginella kraussiana) foliage.
Close uphyacinthus, CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

About the plant

Selaginella kraussiana is a species of vascular plant in the family Selaginellaceae. It is referred to by the common names Krauss' spikemoss, Krauss's clubmoss, or African clubmoss, and is found naturally in parts of Sub-Saharan Africa and in Macaronesia. It is sometimes given the misnomer of "peacock fern", due to its lacy leaf structure, despite having no relation to actual ferns; rather, it belongs to the very ancient lineage of plants known as the clubmosses.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026

Native range
Macaronesia, Trop. & S. Africa
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Macronesia, Africa
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Macaronesia, Africa
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Climate
wet tropical
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Growth form
subshrub
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Ground Cover; habit creeping, dense, horizontal, mounding, spreading
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Matforming (evergreen)
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Size
Height 2–4 in; width 12–18 in
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Height Up to 10 cm; spread 1-1.5 metres after 1–2 years
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Flowering
No flowers
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026

Other Selaginella

Plants with similar care

Sources

What this does not cover

The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.

Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.

If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.