Growing to just 5 cm (2.0 in) high, it is a low-growing, mat-forming evergreen perennial with primitive fern-like leaves, that spreads via rooting stems.

[6][7] Since its introduction to Britain in 1878 it has spread slowly, and was first recorded in the wild in 1917 in west Cornwall (UK) and County Leitrim (Ireland), often as a greenhouse weed.

[8] Selaginella kraussiana is listed on the New Zealand National Pest Plant Accord since it is an invasive species.

The species[12] and the cultivar 'Brownii'[13] have both gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

They require potting media that retains humidity while not staying overly wet, and drains quickly.