Monkey's Paw

cernua: drooping, nodding; referring to the hanging branch tips and strobili that make the plant look like a miniature fir tree.

Main stem creeping on the ground for most of its length, rooting at points of contact with the ground; secondary stems erect, much-branched; tree-like. Foliage leaves needle-like, 3 × 0.3 mm, entire, patent and curving forward. Fertile portions borne in sessile, solitary, strobili, up to 1 cm long, at the apex of the drooping branches. Sporophylls 1.5 × 1.2 mm, ovate, tapering.

Malawi, Mozambique, S Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe. Tropical and subtropical regions of the world.