''Lycopodium'' (from Greek ''lykos'', wolf and ''podion'', diminutive of ''pous'', foot) is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

clubmoss 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 ...

es, also known as ground pines or creeping cedars, in the family

Lycopodiaceae The Lycopodiaceae (class Lycopodiopsida, order Lycopodiales) 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 m ...

. Two very different circumscriptions of the genus are in use. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), ''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.

Description

They are

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanis ...

less, vascular, terrestrial or epiphytic

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae excl ...

s, with widely branched, erect, prostrate, or creeping stems, with small, simple, needle-like or scale-like

leaves A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

that cover the stem and branches thickly. The leaves contain a single, unbranched vascular strand, and are

microphyll In plant anatomy and evolution a microphyll (or lycophyll) is a type of plant leaf with one single, unbranched leaf vein. Plants with microphyll leaves occur early in the fossil record, and few such plants exist today. In the classical concept of ...

s by definition. The kidney-shaped (reniform)

spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, ...

-cases (

sporangia A sporangium (; from Late Latin, ) is an enclosure in which spores are formed. It can be composed of a single cell or can be multicellular. Virtually all plants, fungi, and many other lineages form sporangia at some point in their life cy ...

) contain spores of one kind only, ( isosporous, homosporous), and are borne on the upper surface of the leaf blade of specialized leaves (sporophylls) arranged in a cone-like

strobilus A strobilus (plural: strobili) is a structure present on many land plant species consisting of sporangia-bearing structures densely aggregated along a stem. Strobili are often called cones, but some botanists restrict the use of the term cone to th ...

at the end of upright stems. The club-shaped appearance of these fertile stems gives the clubmosses their common name. Lycopods reproduce asexually by spores. The plants have an underground sexual phase that produces

gamete A gamete (; , ultimately ) is a haploid cell that fuses with another haploid cell during fertilization in organisms that reproduce sexually. Gametes are an organism's reproductive cells, also referred to as sex cells. In species that produce ...

s, and this alternates in the lifecycle 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 ( antheridia and

archegonia An archegonium (pl: archegonia), from the ancient Greek ''ἀρχή'' ("beginning") and ''γόνος'' ("offspring"), is a multicellular structure or organ of the gametophyte phase of certain plants, producing and containing the ovum or female ga ...

). They are more commonly distributed vegetatively, though, through above- or below-ground

rhizomes In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow ...

Taxonomy

The genus ''Lycopodium'' was first published by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, ...

in 1753. He placed it in the Musci (mosses) along with genera such as ''

Sphagnum ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, peat moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store wa ...

'', and included species such as ''Lycopodium selaginoides'', now placed in the genus ''

Selaginella ''Selaginella'' is the sole genus of vascular plants in the family Selaginellaceae, the spikemosses or lesser clubmosses. This family is distinguished from Lycopodiaceae (the clubmosses) by having scale-leaves bearing a ligule and by having ...

'' in a different order from ''Lycopodium''. Different sources use substantially different circumscriptions of the genus. Traditionally, ''Lycopodium'' was considered to be the only extant genus in the family

, so includes all the species in the family, although sometimes excluding one placed in the monotypic genus '' Phylloglossum''. Other sources divide Lycopodiaceae species into three broadly defined genera, ''Lycopodium'', ''Huperzia'' (including ''Phylloglossum'') and ''Lycopodiella''. In this approach, ''Lycopodium''

sensu lato ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular c ...

has about 40 species. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), the broadly defined genus is equivalent to the subfamily Lycopodioideae, and ''Lycopodium'' is one of 16 genera in the family Lycopodiaceae, with between 9 and 15 species.

Species

Using the narrow

circumscription Circumscription may refer to: *Circumscribed circle * Circumscription (logic) *Circumscription (taxonomy) *Circumscription theory, a theory about the origins of the political state in the history of human evolution proposed by the American anthrop ...

of ''Lycopodium'', in which it is one of nine genera in the subfamily Lycopodioideae, the ''Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World'' recognized the following species : *''

Lycopodium clavatum ''Lycopodium clavatum'' (common club moss, stag's-horn clubmoss, running clubmoss, or ground pineBailey, L.H.; Bailey, E.Z.; the staff of the Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. ''Hortus third: A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the Un ...

'' L. – stag's-horn clubmoss; subcosmopolitan *'' Lycopodium diaphanum'' (P.Beauv.) Sw. –

Tristan da Cunha Tristan da Cunha (), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcano, volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the Extreme points of Earth, most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately from Cape Town, Sou ...

*''

Lycopodium japonicum ''Lycopodium japonicum'' is a common species of plant in the genus '' Lycopodium'' in the clubmoss family. It is widespread in China, Japan and countries of Southern Asia. It has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of spr ...

'' Thunb. – eastern Asia (Japan west and south to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

) *'' Lycopodium lagopus'' (Laest. ex C.Hartm.) Zinserl. ex Kuzen. – circumpolar arctic and subarctic *'' Lycopodium papuanum'' Nessel – New Guinea *'' Lycopodium venustulum'' Gaudich. –

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

Western Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

, the

Society Islands The Society Islands (french: Îles de la Société, officially ''Archipel de la Société;'' ty, Tōtaiete mā) are an archipelago located in the South Pacific Ocean. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the F ...

*'' Lycopodium vestitum'' Desv. ex Poir. – northwest South America (Andes) Using the broader circumscription of the genus, ''

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants by ...

'' recognized the following additional ''Lycopodium'' species . Using the narrow circumscription of the genus ''Lycopodium'', the ''Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World'' divided them among eight other genera: *''Lycopodium alpinum'' L. = '' Diphasiastrum alpinum'' *''Lycopodium annotinum'' L. = '' Spinulum annotinum'' *''Lycopodium assurgens'' Fée = '' Austrolycopodium assurgens'' *''Lycopodium carolinum'' (Lawalrée) J.P.Roux = '' Diphasiastrum carolinum'' *''Lycopodium casuarinoides'' Spring = '' Lycopodiastrum casuarinoides'' *''Lycopodium complanatum'' L. = '' Diphasiastrum complanatum'' *''Lycopodium confertum'' Willd. = '' Austrolycopodium confertum'' *''Lycopodium dendroideum'' Michx. = '' Dendrolycopodium dendroideum'' *''Lycopodium deuterodensum'' Herter = '' Pseudolycopodium densum'' *''Lycopodium digitatum'' Dill. ex A.Braun = '' Diphasiastrum digitatum'' *''Lycopodium erectum'' Phil. = '' Austrolycopodium erectum'' *''Lycopodium fastigiatum'' R.Br. = '' Austrolycopodium fastigiatum'' *''Lycopodium fawcettii'' F.E.Lloyd & Underw. = '' Diphasiastrum fawcettii'' *''Lycopodium gayanum'' Brongn. = '' Diphasium gayanum'' *''Lycopodium habereri'' House = '' Diphasiastrum habereri'' *''Lycopodium hickeyi'' (Beitel & R.C.Moran) W.H.Wagner, Beitel & R.C.Moran = '' Dendrolycopodium hickeyi'' *''Lycopodium juniperoideum'' Sw. = '' Dendrolycopodium juniperoideum'' *''Lycopodium jussiaei'' Desv. = '' Diphasium jussiaei'' *''Lycopodium lawessonianum'' B.Øllg. = ''

Diphasium lawessonianum ''Diphasium'' is a genus of lycophytes in the family Lycopodiaceae The Lycopodiaceae (class Lycopodiopsida, order Lycopodiales) are an old family of vascular plants, including all of the core clubmosses and firmosses, comprising 16 accepted ...

'' *''Lycopodium madeirense'' J.H.Wilce = '' Diphasiastrum madeirense'' *''Lycopodium magellanicum'' (P.Beauv.) Sw. = '' Austrolycopodium magellanicum'' *''Lycopodium multispicatum'' J.H.Wilce = '' Diphasiastrum multispicatum'' *''Lycopodium nikoense'' Franch. & Sav. = '' Diphasiastrum nikoense'' *''Lycopodium obscurum'' L. = ''

Dendrolycopodium obscurum ''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 '' ...

'' *''Lycopodium oellgaardi'' (Stoor, Boudrie, Jérôme, K.Horn & Bennert) B.Bock = '' Diphasiastrum oellgaardii'' *''Lycopodium paniculatum'' Desv. = '' Austrolycopodium paniculatum'' *''Lycopodium platyrhizoma'' J.H.Wilce = '' Diphasiastrum platyrhizoma'' *''Lycopodium sabinifolium'' Willd. = '' Diphasiastrum sabinifolium'' *''Lycopodium scariosum'' G.Forst. = ''

Diphasium scariosum ''Diphasium scariosum'', synonym ''Lycopodium scariosum'', commonly known as spreading clubmoss or creeping club moss, is a species in the club moss family Lycopodiaceae. The genus '' Diphasium'' is accepted in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group c ...

'' *''Lycopodium sitchense'' Rupr. = '' Diphasiastrum sitchense'' *''Lycopodium spectabile'' Blume = '' Pseudodiphasium volubile'' *''Lycopodium subarcticum'' V.N.Vassil. = '' Spinulum annotinum'' ssp. ''alpestre'' *''Lycopodium thyoides'' Willd. = '' Diphasiastrum thyoides'' *''Lycopodium tristachyum'' Pursh = '' Diphasiastrum tristachyum'' *''Lycopodium volubile'' G.Forst. = '' Pseudodiphasium volubile'' *''Lycopodium yueshanense'' C.M.Kuo = '' Diphasiastrum yueshanense'' *''Lycopodium zanclophyllum'' J.H.Wilce = '' Diphasiastrum zanclophyllum'' *''Lycopodium'' × ''zeilleri'' (Rouy) Greuter & Burdet = '' Diphasiastrum zeilleri''

Uses

The spores of ''Lycopodium'' species are harvested and are sold as lycopodium powder. ''Lycopodium '' sp. herb has been used in the traditional Austrian medicine internally as tea or externally as compresses for treatment of disorders of the locomotor system, skin, liver and bile, kidneys and urinary tract, infections, rheumatism, and gout, though claims of efficacy are unproven. It has also been used in some United States government chemical warfare test programs such as

Operation Dew Operation Dew refers to two separate field trials conducted by the United States in the 1950s. The tests were designed to study the behavior of aerosol-released biological agents. General description Operation Dew took place from 1951 to 1952 off t ...

U.S. National Research Council The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (also known as NASEM or the National Academies) are the collective scientific national academy of the United States. The name is used interchangeably in two senses: (1) as an umbrell ...

, Subcommittee on Zinc Cadmium Sulfide
''Toxicologic Assessment of the Army's Zinc Cadmium Sulfide Dispersion''
National Academies Press, 1997, pp. 44–77, . ''Lycopodium'' powder was also used to determine the molecular size of

oleic acid Oleic acid is a fatty acid that occurs naturally in various animal and vegetable fats and oils. It is an odorless, colorless oil, although commercial samples may be yellowish. In chemical terms, oleic acid is classified as a monounsaturated o ...

References

External links

Species list
(takes a broad view of the genus, including the species here separated in the genus '' Diphasiastrum'')
Burning ''Lycopodium'' Powder: Simulating a Grain Elevator Explosion
by Kevin A. Boudreaux {{Taxonbar, from=Q624488 Lycopodiaceae Lycophyte genera