Lycopodium spores flying

The clubmosses have just about finished their reproductive show for the year, and the upright, yellow-green spore cases at the top of the plants have lost most of their vibrant color... as well as their spores. The wind, the rain, numerous animal passers-by, and, of course, curious kids have all conspired, however unwittingly, to help these ancient plants send tiny packets of DNA in every conceivable direction.  My kids and grandkids, to say nothing of every youngster I've ever brought out into clubmoss country, have loved doing Lycopodium's bidding, and when you whack a full spore case—a strobilus—just right, you're rewarded with a cloud of botanical smoke, the sum total of all those millions of tiny spores embarking on a journey. The successful ones will land in a place that can nurture the next part of the life-cycle, the gametophyte phase, and if this obscure plantlet is fertilized, the end result will be a new clubmoss. Eventually, kids will get into the act.