This species with a strictly Mediterranean distribution is present in Liguria and in almost all regions of Central, Southern and Insular Italy (missing in Umbria and not reported since a long time from Abruzzo). It grows on rocks and cliffs, sometimes on walls, usually between mosses, from sea level to the lower montane belt. It appears sporadically also on the edge of the temporary ponds of Sardinia, in contact with shaded rocky sites. The genus name is a diminutive of the Latin word selago which designated plants similar to club mosses, and refers to the resemblance of some species (not this one) with a small club moss; the species name refers to the serrated margin of the leaflets. Sporulation period: April to August.

Italian name(s): Peron (Liguria, Bordighera), Selaginella denticolata (Italia).