Ground pine occurs in cool, boreal forests. It has not been listed as a community dominant. Clubmosses can make attractive ground covers, but they do not transplant well. Many Lycopodium species have been collected for commercial purposes and are subsequently becoming rare. In general, if temperatures become warmer and the forest becomes drier, this species would be expected to decrease.
Ground pine is a native, perennial, evergreen clubmoss.
It has long rhizomes which give rise to scattered aerial stems. Ground pine can comprise a significant part of the understory. More commonly, it accounts for less than one percent ground cover. Ground pine is considered a mid-seral species. Rhizomes present in the litter layer are likely to be damaged by fire.