Lycopodium smoke, Henne

Whenever I take groups of kids on environmental field trips into the woods, there are two activities that never fail to delight my young audience. The first is "exploding" puffballs to release a stream of "smoke," which is actually a gusher of spores. This is the second activity, which is also about releasing spores, this time by shaking the strobili that sit at the top of a group of ancient plants collectively called Club Mosses. Kids love to do this, and when the Club Mosses are primed and ready—this typically happens in November—every excursion becomes an excuse to function as an agent of spore dispersal. So it was today, but since I didn't have any children with me, I had to channel my inner six-year-old and do the job myself. Fortunately, I didn't have any trouble remembering the proper technique. No trouble at all.