''Lycopodiella'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

in the

clubmoss Lycopodiopsida is a class of vascular plants also known as lycopsids, lycopods, or lycophytes. Members of the class are also called clubmosses, firmosses, spikemosses and quillworts. They have dichotomously branching stems bearing simple leaves ...

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Lycopodiaceae The Lycopodiaceae (class Lycopodiopsida, order Lycopodiales) are an old family of vascular plants, including all of the core clubmosses and firmosses, comprising 17 accepted genera and about 500 known species. This family originated about 380 mi ...

. The genus members are commonly called bog clubmosses, describing their

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

. The genus has a

cosmopolitan distribution In biogeography, a cosmopolitan distribution is the range of a taxon that extends across most or all of the surface of the Earth, in appropriate habitats; most cosmopolitan species are known to be highly adaptable to a range of climatic and en ...

, with centers of diversity in the tropical

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

and

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

. In the past, the genus was often incorporated within the related genus ''

Lycopodium ''Lycopodium'' (from Ancient Greek ''lykos'', wolf and ''podion'', diminutive of ''pous'', foot) is a genus of clubmosses, also known as ground pines or creeping cedars, in the family Lycopodiaceae. Two very different circumscriptions of the gen ...

'', but was segregated in 1964. In the

Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group The Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group (PPG) is an informal international group of systematic botanists who collaborate to establish on the classification of pteridophytes ( lycophytes and ferns) that reflects knowledge about plant relationships discove ...

classification of 2016 (PPG I), ''Lycopodiella'' is placed in the subfamily

Lycopodielloideae Lycopodielloideae is a subfamily in the family Lycopodiaceae in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). It is equivalent to a broad circumscription of the genus ''Lycopodiella'' in other classifications. Like all lycophyt ...

, along with three other genera. In this

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 anthr ...

, 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.

Description

''Lycopodiella'' are non-flowering plants. They have leafy rhizomes that grow along the ground and vertical, leafy shoots, also known as peduncles. Fertile peduncles have strobili at the top of the shoot. Individuals can have short, creeping rhizomes with simple strobili, branching rhizomes with many strobili, or anywhere in between. The North American specimens are typically shorter, have thinner shoots, and have fewer vertical shoots in the North than specimen in the South.

Life cycle

''Lycopodiella'' life cycles include an independent sporophyte stage and a long-lived gametophyte stage. Individuals reproduce by single-celled spores that disperse and germinate into small plants when in suitable conditions. This part of the plant is called the gametophyte; it produces the eggs and sperm. In ''Lycopodiella'' the gametophytes grow on the surface of the soil and are partially photosynthetic. After fertilization, the embryos grow into sporophytes, which are larger spore-bearing plants. The sporophyte is the vegetative part of the plant seen in nature. Juvenile individuals typically re-sprout in the spring or after a fire. Individuals have a base chromosome number of 78.

Taxonomy

In the

classification of 2016 (PPG I), ''Lycopodiella'' is placed in the subfamily Lycopodielloideae, along with three other genera (''

Lateristachys ''Lateristachys'' is a genus of lycophytes in the family Lycopodiaceae. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), it is placed in the subfamily Lycopodielloideae. Some sources do not recognize the genus, sinking it into ...

'', ''

Palhinhaea ''Palhinhaea'' is a genus of Lycopodiopsida, lycophytes in the family Lycopodiaceae. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), it is placed in the subfamily Lycopodielloideae. Some sources do not recognize the genus, sink ...

'' and ''

Pseudolycopodiella ''Pseudolycopodiella'' is a genus of non-seed plants in the Lycopodiaceae The Lycopodiaceae (class Lycopodiopsida, order Lycopodiales) are an old family of vascular plants, including all of the core clubmosses and firmosses, comprising 17 acc ...

''). In 2022, an additional

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

genus, '' Brownseya'', was segregated from ''Pseudolycopodiella'' to render the latter

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

. Other sources do not recognize these genera, submerging them into ''Lycopodiella''.

Extant species

, the ''Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World'' recognized the following twelve species: Four hybrids have also been described:

Distribution and habitat

''Lycopodiella'' is found worldwide, but typically in temperate and tropical areas, a majority of which are found in North and South America. Individuals are typically found in terrestrial lowlands or montane forests on poor soils. Much of the soils are sandy and saturated and have little to no organic layer.

North America

The known ''Lycopodiella'' in North America consists of six species and four hybrids. All but one species of ''Lycopodiella'', ''Lycopodiella inundata'', are limited to the East coast, Gulf of Mexico, and/or Great Lakes region. ''L. inundata'' is found from New England to Alaska and down into California.

References

External links

Genus description
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2712726 Lycopodiaceae Lycophyte genera