Selaginella uncinata

Peacock moss is not a moss at all but a very low, spreading fern relative, a spikemoss whose scale-like leaves clothe trailing stems that root as they run and knit into patches across moist, shaded ground. The great distinction of Selaginella uncinata is color: in good light the foliage takes on an iridescent, metallic blue-green sheen, the peacock shimmer that gives the plant a common name.

Native to southern China, peacock moss has been grown and gathered for centuries, prized wherever a shaded, humid corner needs a jewel. The delicate, fern-like fronds are soft and almost velvety to the touch, and the blue cast deepens in shade and shifts with the angle of the light, so that a single patch seems to change color as a visitor moves past. Set between flagstones on a shaded walk, at the edge of a water feature, or across the floor of a terrarium, the effect is quietly enchanting.

In the plant's homeland, peacock moss is far more than an ornament. The whole plant has served as a folk herb in south China for at least four hundred years, gathered for a long list of complaints, and modern laboratories have taken an interest in the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds the fronds contain. That double life, garden jewel and traditional medicine, is common among the spikemosses.

As a garden plant, peacock moss thrives in consistently moist soil, partial to full shade, and humid air, which makes the species equally at home in a shaded woodland bed and an indoor terrarium or low-light room. The creeping mats spread readily, adding texture and an unusual color to any shaded planting, and ask little beyond moisture and shelter from harsh sun. For plant lovers after a touch of enchantment, few groundcovers give so much for so little.

Photos courtesy of Diane Ozdamar and Gordon Dickson.