Lycopodium

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Lycopodium annotinum, family Lycopodiaceae

Introduction

Lycopodium is a genus of clubmosses, also known as ground pines, in the family Lycopodiaceae, a family of fern-allies (see Pteridophyta). They are flowerless, vascular, terrestrial or epiphytic plants, with widely-branched, erect, prostrate or creeping stems, with small, simple, needle-like or scale-like leaves that cover the stem and branches thickly. The fertile leaves are arranged in cone-like strobilli. Specialized leaves (sporophylls) bear reniform spore-cases (sporangia) in the axils, which contain spores of one kind only. These club-shaped capsules give the genus its name.

Lycopods reproduce sexually by spores. The plant has an underground sexual phase that produces gametes, and this alternates in the life cycle with the spore-producing plant. The prothallium developed from the spore is a subterranean mass of tissue of considerable size and bears both the male and female organs (antheridium and archegonia). However, it is more common that they are distributed vegetatively through above or below ground rhizomes.

There is a total of approximately 200 species, with 37 species widely distributed in temperate and tropical climates, though they are confined to mountains in the tropics.

Dendrogram

<==Lycopodium
   |--L. appressum
   |--L. australianum
   |--L. billardieri
   |--L. cernuum Linnaeus 1753
   |--L. clavatum Linnaeus 1753 (see below for synonymy)
   |--L. complanatum
   |--L. densum
   |--L. drummondii
   |--L. fastigiatum
   |--L. flagellaria
   |--L. hamiltonii Spr. 1828 (see below for synonymy)
   |--L. herterianum Kümm. 1928 (see below for synonymy)
   |--L. laterale
   |--L. phlegmaria Linnaeus 1753
   |--L. pithyoides
   |--L. pulcherrimum Wallich ex Hooker & Greville 1827 (see below for synonymy)
   |--L. ramulosum
   |--L. scariosum
   |--L. selago Linnaeus 1753 [=Urostachys selago (Linnaeus) Hert. 1923]
   |--L. serratum Thunberg 1784 [=Urostachys serratus (Thunberg) Hert. 1923]
   |--L. skutchii
   |--L. squarrosum Forster 1786 (see below for synonymy)
   |--L. subulifolium Wallich ex Hooker & Greville 1827 (see below for synonymy)
   |--L. varium
   |--L. veitchii Christ 1906
   `--L. volubile

Lycopodium clavatum Linnaeus 1753 [incl. L. divaricatum Wallich ex Greville & Hooker in Hooker 1831, L. japonicum Thunberg 1784, L. clavatum var. wallichianum Spring 1842]

Lycopodium hamiltonii Spr. 1828 [=L. obtusifolium Hamilton ex Don 1825 non Swartz 1806, Urostachys hamiltonii (Spr.) Hert. ex Nessel 1939]

Lycopodium herterianum Kümm. 1928 [=L. sikkimense Hert. 1909 non Müller 1861, Urostachys herterianus (Kümm.) Hert. 1949, U. sikkimensis (Hert.) Hert. ex Nessel 1939]

Lycopodium pulcherrimum Wallich ex Hooker & Greville 1827 [=Lycopodium setaceum var. pulcherrimum (Wallich) Clarke 1880, Urostachys pulcherrimus (Wallich) Hert. 1949; incl. L. setaceum Hamilton ex Don 1825 non de Lamarck 1789]

Lycopodium squarrosum Forster 1786 [=Urostachys squarrosus (Forster) Hert. 1923; incl. L. hookeri Wallich ex Hooker & Greville 1829]

Lycopodium subulifolium Wallich ex Hooker & Greville 1827 [=L. setaceum var. subulifolium Wallich apud Clarke 1880, Urostachys subulifolius (Wallich) Hart. 1949]

* Type species of generic name indicated

References

Allan, H. H. 1927. The vegetation of Mount Peel, Canterbury, New Zealand. Part 2. – The grassland and other herbaceous communities. Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute 57: 73-89.

Andersen, J. C. 1927. Popular names of New Zealand plants. Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute 57: 905-977.

Carse, H. 1927. Botanical notes, with descriptions of new species. Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute 57: 89-93.

Colenso, W. 1845. Memoranda of an excursion, made in the Northern Island of New Zealand, in the summer of 1841-2; intended as a contribution towards the natural productions of the New Zealand groupe: with particular reference to their botany (concluded). Tasmanian Journal of Natural Science 2: 241-308.

Engel, J. J., & J. E. Braggins. 2001. Austral Hepaticae 34. The sporophyte of Neogrollea Hodgs. and the taxonomic position of Neogrolleaceae (Schust.) Engel & Braggins comb. & stat. nov. Journal of the Hattori Botanical Laboratory 91: 173-204.

Frey, W., M. Hofmann & H. H. Hilger. 2001. The gametophyte-sporophyte junction: Unequivocal hints for two evolutionary lines of archegoniate land plants. Flora 196: 431-445.

Iwatsuki, K. 1988. An enumeration of the pteridophytes of Nepal. In The Himalayan Plants vol. 1 (H. Ohba & S. B. Malla, eds.) The University Museum, University of Tokyo, Bulletin 31: 231-339.

Lötschert, W. 1954. Beitrag zur Pteridophyten-Flora von Mittel-Amerika. Senckenbergiana Biologica 35 (1-2): 109-119.

Polunin, I. 1988. Plants and Flowers of Malaysia. Times Editions: Singapore.

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