Selaginella: The Spikemoss Guide for Growing, Choosing & Using It

Selaginella has an identity problem.

It looks like moss, and it’s often sold like moss. Some types get called ferns. Others are called clubmoss. One species even dries into a brown crispy ball and comes back to life with the drama of a Victorian séance…

But once you get past the naming chaos, Selaginella is much easier to understand.

You don’t need to know every species or botanical footnote. You just need to know which types are worth growing, what conditions they want, and where they actually make sense.

Selaginella is a genus of ancient vascular plants.

Despite its many common names, the genus sits in its own odd little category with some distinctive characteristics. It has tiny, scale-like leaves on branching stems and reproduces by spores, but unlike moss, it has vascular tissue for moving water and nutrients through the plant.

That’s the technical version at least.

In practice, most Selaginella plants you’ll find in cultivation grow as low, branching, humidity-loving plants. Some creep into soft mats, others grow more upright and fern-like. A few have blue, bronze, or frosted tones that look super dramatic for something so small.

They may not be a moss or a fern, but they bring many of the best qualities together.

While there are hundreds of Selaginella species, only a small handful regularly show up in houseplant and terrarium circles.

And those are the ones really worth knowing.

1. Selaginella kraussiana (Golden Clubmoss, Spikemoss)

Best for: Lush, spreading growth.

Selaginella kraussiana is probably the most familiar species in cultivation.

It has a soft, mossy look and a creeping habit, forming fresh green mats when conditions are right. That makes it useful wherever you want low, textured growth rather than an upright feature plant.

Its growth pattern can be unpredictable, but it’s great for adding that “wild” element to a terrarium.

It’s often grown as ground cover in tropical and woodland terrariums, but it can also work as a potted plant if you can keep the moisture and humidity consistent.

2. Selaginella uncinata (Peacock Spikemoss/Peacock Fern)

Best for: Color and movement.

Coming in a wide variety of blues, purples, and greens, Selaginella uncinata has more of a vining nature than the others, but it will still form a pretty dense mat as it weaves around.

It looks especially good against darker backgrounds, where the iridescent tones have a chance to show up.

I have seen this grown in pots, but it definitely appreciates the extra humidity of a terrarium.

3. Selaginella martensii ‘Jori’

Best for: Upright texture.

Selaginella martensii ‘Jori’ is one of the more commonly grown upright Selaginella types.

Rather than creeping into a mat, it grows with a more lifted, branching habit. The foliage has that delicate, fern-like look, but it stays finer and more compact than many true ferns.

Despite the occasional wintery branding, this is not a cold-loving plant. It still wants the usual tropical Selaginella conditions: warmth, steady moisture, and high humidity.

It’s a good choice when you want a bit of height and structure without losing that soft, miniature feel.

Other Noteworthy Varieties

Some of these others can be great plants, but availability and application vary wildly.

• Selaginella emmeliana – A compact, feathered species with a softer fern-like look. Less showy, but useful where you want fine texture.
• Selaginella braunii – A larger, more architectural species with the strongest fern impression. Better for larger displays than tiny containers.
• Selaginella lepidophylla – The resurrection plant. Fascinating, but care-wise it’s the oddball dry-adapted species, not a lush tropical spikemoss.

Selaginella is one of those plant groups where the best species on paper aren’t always the ones you can actually buy (or realistically use).

Selaginella care is mostly about consistency.

Most tropical species do best in low to medium indirect light, steady warmth, high humidity, and evenly moist substrate. Harsh direct sun can dry and damage the foliage quickly, while very low light can lead to thin, stretched growth.

Moisture is the main thing to get right.

Selaginella does not like drying out completely, which is why it often performs better in terrariums than in open pots. A closed or semi-closed setup helps keep humidity stable and slows moisture loss from the substrate.

Use a moisture-retentive substrate with enough structure and drainage to avoid soggy, stagnant conditions around the roots. A good tropical terrarium mix is usually ideal.

On the fertilization front, it’s honestly rarely a priority. Selaginella is not a heavy feeder, and in terrariums, too much fertilizer can create more problems than it solves. If you do feed, use a very diluted fertilizer sparingly during active growth.

Top Tips: If your Selaginella is crisping or browning, it’s usually too dry, too exposed, or getting too much direct light. If it’s yellowing, collapsing, or turning mushy, the setup is probably too wet or stagnant.

The tropical species of Selaginella are natural terrarium plants.

Behind glass, these plants are protected from dry household air, sudden moisture swings, and the slow, crispy decline that happens when humidity-loving plants are expected to cope with normal room conditions.

But it still needs the right role.

After all, Selaginella is not usually the main feature plant in a terrarium. It’s more of a texture-builder. The plant that makes the whole layout feel softer, older, wilder, and less freshly arranged.

Creeping species like Selaginella kraussiana work well around the base of hardscape, where they soften the transition between substrate, wood, and stone.

They’re especially useful when true moss would be too slow, too flat, or too fussy.

Upright species like Selaginella martensii, S. emmeliana, and S. braunii work more like miniature fern substitutes. Use them where you want a prehistoric texture without immediately filling the whole container with a true fern.

The main thing here is placement.

Selaginella likes humidity and evenly moist substrate, but it does not want stagnant, swampy conditions. Plant it somewhere stable and damp (not in the wettest low point of the build).

Then trim as needed. Happy Selaginella can creep, bulk out, or blur the edges of a layout faster than expected, and a light prune keeps the whole build in scale.

Selaginella is (almost comically) easy to propagate if you keep it simple.

The two most practical methods are division and stem cuttings.

Propagating by Division

This is usually the easiest method for dense, mat-forming plants.

Gently separate a healthy clump into smaller sections, making sure each piece has some roots and active growth attached. Then replant the divisions into moist substrate and keep the humidity high while they settle.

Terrariums and propagation boxes are ideal for this because they maintain the humidity cuttings need.

This works especially well when a plant has already spread through a terrarium and needs thinning.

Propagating by Stem Cuttings

Many Selaginella species can also root from stem cuttings.

Take a healthy section of growth and place it against a moist substrate or damp sphagnum moss in a humid environment. Keep it warm, stable, and moist while it roots.

Selaginella does produce spores, but spore propagation is not worth the effort for most people.

Technically interesting, but in practice, pretty annoying. Division and cuttings are definitely the way to go.

Selaginella is one of those plant groups that makes much more sense once you stop trying to force it into a familiar category.

It isn’t moss. It isn’t fern. It’s a strange, ancient, wonderfully textured plant group with a handful of species that are genuinely worth growing.

For most tropical types, the care is straightforward. Keep them humid and evenly moist, avoid harsh direct light, and don’t let the substrate turn stagnant.

Creeping species work beautifully as soft ground cover. Upright species bring a compact, fern-like texture. And the resurrection plant remains the oddball exception that proves Selaginella is not one single care profile…

Choose the right type, keep conditions stable, and Selaginella can be one of the most rewarding little plants to grow – especially behind glass.