Six or eight of these bright yellow stems have sprouted at the top of a roadside ditch bank. When seen, the tallest was eight to ten inches. The area is very wet due to lots of rain in our area over the past few weeks.
Hi Erin,
your plant is one of the ancient clubmosses, allied to the ferns. It is the foxtail bog-clubmoss, Lycopodiella alopecuroides. It usually indicates a healthy flatland bog system and can grow with many other interesting plants including orchids. At the top of the largest stems it produces a long fuzzy cone with spores. Otherwise the plant is a creeping perennial.
Sincerely,
Dr. Steven Hill, Botanist, SCNPS