Fern found in SC woods--what is it?

[raccoon]

Somebody told me the name; it started "lyca (sp?) but I can't remember the rest.

He also told me it's evergreen, wild, in the days of the dinosaurs it grew to 60-80 feet high (now it's about 6-8 INCHES)and American colonists and Native American used it as a substitute for talcum powder (for chafing).

Can anybody tell me the name of it?

[Bossy Monkey]

1. Lycopodium. (Didn't know; had to look it up)

http://www.elyminnesota.com/reports/fern_ally_flashpowder.php
Myself, I'm partial to the clubmosses, particularly running pine and running cedar.

[raccoon]

2. Thanks for posting that link.

How come I've lived in SC my whole life, I'm an "active adult,"
and I just saw the plant for the first time this year?

I thought it was an escaped domestic plant at first.

Oh, well, I guess there are lots of plants I still don't know about.