Lycopodiopsida is a class of vascular plants known as lycopods, lycophytes or other terms including the component lyco-. Members of the class are also called clubmosses, firmosses, spikemosses and quillworts. They have dichotomously branching stems bearing simple leaves called microphylls and reproduce by means of spores borne in sporangia on the sides of the stems at the bases of the leaves. Although living species are small, during the Carboniferous, extinct tree-like forms (Lepidodendrales) formed huge forests that dominated the landscape and contributed to coal deposits.
The lycophytes, when broadly circumscribed, are a group of vascular plants that include the clubmosses. They are sometimes placed in a division Lycopodiophyta or Lycophyta or in a subdivision Lycopodiophytina. They are one of the oldest lineages of extant (living) vascular plants; the group contains extinct plants that have been dated from the Silurian. Lycophytes were some of the dominating plant species of the Carboniferous period, and included the tree-like Lepidodendrales, some of which grew over 40 metres (130 ft) in height, although extant lycophytes are relatively small plants.
Huperzia is a genus of lycophyte plants, sometimes known as the firmosses or fir clubmosses; the Flora of North America calls them gemma fir-mosses. This genus was originally included in the related genus Lycopodium, from which it differs in having undifferentiated sporangial leaves, and the sporangia not formed into apical cones. The common name firmoss, used for some of the north temperate species, refers to their superficial resemblance to branches of fir (Abies), a conifer. As of 2020, two very different circumscriptions of the genus were in use. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016, Huperzia is one of three genera in the subfamily Huperzioideae of the family Lycopodiaceae. Most species in the subfamily are placed in the genus Phlegmariurus. Huperzia is left with about 25 species, although not all have been formally transferred to other genera. Other sources recognize only Huperzia, which then has about 340 species.
The Lycopodiaceae are an old family of vascular plants, including all of the core clubmosses and firmosses, comprising 16 accepted genera and about 400 known species. This family originated about 380 million years ago in the early Devonian, though the diversity within the family has been much more recent. "Wolf foot" is another common name for this family due to the resemblance of either the roots or branch tips to a wolf's paw.
Lycopodium is a genus of clubmosses, also known as ground pines or creeping cedars, in the family Lycopodiaceae. Two very different circumscriptions of the genus are in use. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016, Lycopodium is one of nine genera in the subfamily Lycopodioideae, and has from nine to 15 species. In other classifications, the genus is equivalent to the whole of the subfamily, since it includes all of the other genera. More than 40 species are accepted.
Lycopodium clavatum is the most widespread species in the genus Lycopodium in the clubmoss family.
Diphasiastrum is a genus of clubmosses in the plant family Lycopodiaceae. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016, it is placed in the subfamily Lycopodioideae. It is closely related to the genus Lycopodium, and some botanists treat it within a broad view of that genus as a section, Lycopodium sect. Complanata. Some species superficially resemble diminutive gymnosperms and have been given common names such as ground-pine or ground-cedar.
Lycopodiella is a genus in the clubmoss family Lycopodiaceae. The genus members are commonly called bog clubmosses, describing their wetland habitat. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, with centers of diversity in the tropical New World and New Guinea. In the past, the genus was often incorporated within the related genus Lycopodium, but was segregated in 1964. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016, Lycopodiella is placed in the subfamily Lycopodielloideae, along with three other genera. In this circumscription, the genus has about 15 species. Other sources use a wider circumscription, in which the genus is equivalent to the Lycopodielloideae of PPG I, in which case about 40 species and hybrids are accepted.
Ground pine or ground-pine may refer to:
Spinulum annotinum, synonym Lycopodium annotinum, known as interrupted club-moss, or stiff clubmoss, is a species of clubmoss native to forests of the colder parts of North America, as well as Asia, and most of Europe. The genus Spinulum is accepted in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016, but not in other classifications, which submerge the genus in Lycopodium.
Diphasiastrum digitatum is known as groundcedar, running cedar or crowsfoot, along with other members of its genus, but the common name fan clubmoss can be used to refer to it specifically. It is the most common species of Diphasiastrum in North America. It is a type of plant known as a clubmoss, which is within one of the three main divisions of living vascular plants. It was formerly included in the superspecies Diphasiastrum complanatum. For many years, this species was known as Lycopodium flabelliforme or Lycopodium digitatum.
Palhinhaea cernua, synonym Lycopodiella cernua and Lycopodium cernuum, is a plant in the family Lycopodiaceae, commonly known as the staghorn clubmoss. The Hawaiian name for the plant is wāwaeʻiole, or "rat's foot". It has a substantial number of scientific synonyms in several genera. The genus Palhinhaea is accepted in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016, but not in other classifications which submerge the genus in Lycopodiella. It is the largest of the clubmosses, having rhizomes up to 5 m (16 ft) in length, with leafy uprights up to 2.5 m in height.
The genus Dendrolycopodium is a clubmoss genus in the family Lycopodiaceae. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016, it is placed in the subfamily Lycopodioideae. Some sources do not recognize the genus, sinking it into Lycopodium. It is treated as section Obscura when retained within Lycopodium. The genus includes a discrete group of plants with similar morphologies. All have erect to semi-erect, branched stems.
Dendrolycopodium obscurum, synonym Lycopodium obscurum, commonly called rare clubmoss, ground pine, or princess pine, is a North American species of clubmoss in the family Lycopodiaceae. It is a close relative of other species such as D. dendroideum and D. hickeyi, also treelike. It is native to the eastern United States and southeastern Canada from Georgia to Minnesota to Nova Scotia. It grows in the understory of temperate coniferous and deciduous forests, where it is involved in seral secondary succession, growing in clonal colonies some years after disturbance has occurred. It has also been found in Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Russian Far East, and northeastern China.
Austrolycopodium magellanicum, synonym Lycopodium magellanicum, the Magellanic clubmoss, is a species of vascular plant in the club moss family Lycopodiaceae. The genus Austrolycopodium is accepted in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016, but not in other classifications which submerge the genus in Lycopodium.
Princess pine may refer to:
Dendrolycopodium hickeyi known as Hickey's tree club-moss or Pennsylvania clubmoss, is a North American species of clubmoss in the family Lycopodiaceae. It is native to eastern and Central Canada and the eastern and north-central United States. The genus Dendrolycopodium is accepted in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016, but not in other classifications, which submerge the genus in a larger Lycopodium.
Pseudolycopodium is a genus of lycophyte in the family Lycopodiaceae with only one species, Pseudolycopodium densum, known as the bushy clubmoss. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016, the genus is placed in the subfamily Lycopodioideae. Some sources do not recognize the genus, sinking it into Lycopodium. Pseudolycopodium densum is native to Australia, the North Island of New Zealand and New Caledonia. It is a spore-bearing vascular plant and grows up to a metre high. It is found in a wide variety of situations, often in high rainfall areas on sandy soils.
Lycopodioideae is a subfamily in the family Lycopodiaceae in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016. It is equivalent to a broad circumscription of the genus Lycopodium in other classifications. Like all lycophytes, members of the Lycopodioideae reproduce by spores. The oldest fossils of modern members of the family date to the Early Cretaceous.
