Human uses of club mosses are numerous for medicinal, dyeing, pyrotechnic, and decorative purposes. Club moss spores and teas from plant leaves have been used since ancient times in both Asian, American and European cultures. Medicinal uses included treating urinary tract problems, diarrhea and other digestive tract problems, relieving headaches and skin ailments, and inducing labor in pregnancy. In some cultures, the spores have been purported to be an aphrodisiac. The spores repel water and have been used as a powder on skin rashes and even on baby bottoms, and to treat wounds. Clubmoss spores once were used by pharmacists in the coating of pills. In both the Americas and Europe, clubmoss plants are used in dyeing fabrics and other items. The plants and/or spores can be used directly or as a mordant (substance to lock in other dyes) in the dyeing process. Spores are also very flammable due to their high oil content. They were used in Indian cultures for ceremonial purposes, when medicine men tossed the spores into a fire for a flash of light. The spores ignite with a bright flash of light and were used in flash photography, in stage productions, in fireworks (up until the 1950s), and in chemistry labs. At one time, club moss plants commonly were used for Christmas decorations. Species in which individual plants are connected by rhizomes or runners were ripped from the ground and used as decorative ropes of greenery.