What Is Princess Pine? A Plant Best Admired in the Wild

Princess Pine is a common name for plants in the Dendrolycopodium genus, but despite its appearance, it is not a pine tree or any kind of conifer. It belongs to the clubmosses, an ancient lineage of vascular plants that are relatives of ferns. While fossil evidence shows its ancestors grew to towering heights, the modern plant is a low-growing species. Its name comes from the resemblance its branching, upright stems have to miniature evergreen trees.

Identifying Princess Pine

Princess Pine is identified by its unique growth habit. The visible aerial shoots stand upright, rarely growing taller than six inches, and branch out multiple times into a miniature tree form. The main stem is a rhizome that creeps horizontally about two to three inches below the ground, allowing the plant to form clonal colonies from which the upright shoots emerge.

The small, green, needle-like leaves are tightly pressed against the main upright stems. On the lateral branches, the leaves are arranged in a way that makes the branch appear flattened, as the leaves on the underside are smaller than those on the top and sides. Fertile shoots produce non-flowering cones called strobili at their tips, which release spores.

Natural Habitat and Range

Princess Pine is found in the understory of cool, temperate forests. It thrives on shaded forest floors with moist, acidic soils rich in humus and organic matter. Its preferred environments are woodlands dominated by coniferous trees or a mix of hardwood and conifer species, where the canopy provides shade. The plant grows from sea level up to elevations of around 1,600 meters.

This clubmoss has a broad native range. It is found throughout eastern North America, from Newfoundland and Minnesota south to Georgia and Arkansas. Its distribution also includes parts of Eastern Asia, such as Japan, Korea, northeastern China, and the Russian Far East. Within its habitat, its presence can indicate a stable, mature forest, as it colonizes areas years after a disturbance.

Conservation and Harvesting Guidelines

Harvesting Princess Pine from the wild is discouraged and often illegal due to conservation concerns. Historically, it was gathered for holiday decorations, which led to a severe population decline. The plant is vulnerable because of its slow growth rate, as a colony can take decades to recover, and its dependence on a symbiotic relationship with specific soil fungi. This connection is destroyed when the plant is pulled from the ground, making it highly sensitive to disturbance.

While not federally listed as endangered, states like New York and Indiana have granted it protected status, making it illegal to harvest. On public lands like state and national parks, removing any plant is prohibited. Before gathering from private land, it is important to check local and state regulations. If harvesting is permitted, only cut stems with shears to avoid damaging the underground rhizome and rotate harvest sites annually.

Challenges in Cultivation

Growing Princess Pine in a home garden is exceptionally difficult and almost always fails. The primary obstacle is the plant’s symbiotic relationship with specific mycorrhizal fungi found only in its native forest soil. Garden soils lack this fungal community, making it impossible for a transplanted clubmoss to absorb nutrients and establish itself.

The plant also requires the consistently cool, moist, and acidic soil of a shaded forest floor, which is difficult to maintain in a garden. Transplanting from the wild is not a solution, as digging up the plant damages the underground rhizome and severs its fungal connection. This action kills the plant and harms the ecosystem from which it was taken, so it is best admired in its natural habitat.