Lycopodium powder

When it is mixed with air, the spores are highly flammable and are used to create dust explosions as theatrical special effects.

The powder consists of the dry spores of clubmoss plants, or various fern relatives principally in the genera Lycopodium and Diphasiastrum.

[citation needed] Today, the principal use of the powder is to create flashes or flames that are large and impressive but relatively easy to manage safely in magic acts and for cinema and theatrical special effects.

Lycopodium powder is also sometimes used as a lubricating dust on skin-contacting latex (natural rubber) goods, such as condoms and medical gloves.

This is in response to asymmetric collisional forces applied to the macroscopic (but still quite small) powder particle by microscopic water molecules in random thermal motion.

Lycopodium powder being used to demonstrate the power of a dust explosion
Spore houses from the lycopodium plant drying for harvesting spores
From left: Lycopodium spore house before drying, dried spore house and dried spore house emptied for spores