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club moss
noun
: any of an order (Lycopodiales) of primitive vascular plants (such as ground pine) often with the sporangia borne in club-shaped strobili
Examples of club moss in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The club moss, or the beaver, or the chipping sparrow, or the black crappie, or wild rice?
—Pamela Miller, Star Tribune, 9 July 2021
Plants that won't overgrow the container, such as boxwood, croton, Joseph's coat, pineapple verbena and twiggy spikemoss for sun-loving plants, and gnome ivy, golden club moss, Irish or Scottish club moss and miniature ferns for shade-loving plants.
—Jennifer Nalewicki, Popular Mechanics, 16 Nov. 2020
But during the Carboniferous period, which stretched from about 360 to 300 million years ago, the region was a subtropical swamp dominated by lycopids, giant relatives of today’s club mosses that could grow over a hundred feet tall.
—Tim Vernimmen, National Geographic, 23 Dec. 2019
Flowers had not evolved, and the ground was dominated by primitive plants called lycopods (ancestors of club mosses and quillworts).
—Sarah Kaplan, chicagotribune.com, 30 May 2018
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Word History
First Known Use
1597, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near club moss
Cite this Entry
“Club moss.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/club%20moss. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
Kids Definition
club moss
noun
: any of an order of low often trailing evergreen plants (as the ground pine) having branching stems covered with small mosslike leaves and reproducing by spores usually borne in club-shaped cones
Medical Definition
club moss
noun
: any of an order (Lycopodiales) of primitive vascular plants including several (genus Lycopodium) whose spores are used as a dusting powder and to coat pills
More from Merriam-Webster on club moss
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about club moss
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