''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 (PPG I), 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.

Taxonomy

The species was first described in 1807 by

Jacques Labillardière Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière (28 October 1755 – 8 January 1834) was a French biologist noted for his descriptions of the flora of Australia. Labillardière was a member of a voyage in search of the La Pérouse expedition. He pub ...

, as ''Lycopodium densum''. However, the name had already been used for a different species, so this name is

illegitimate Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ...

. Hence when Werner Rothmaler in 1944 placed the species in the genus ''Lepidotis'' as ''Lepidotis densa'', this was the first legitimate use of the epithet. In 1983, Josef Holub placed the species in his genus ''Pseudolycopodium''. This placement is accepted in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), and by the ''Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World'' . Other sources retain the species in its original genus, ''Lycopodium'', where the legitimate name is ''Lycopodium deuterodensum'' Herter.

Distribution and habitat

''Pseudolycopodium'' (as ''Lycopodium deuterodensum'') grows in open forest, scrub or heath in eastern New South Wales, southern Victoria, Tasmania (including

Bass Strait Islands Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The strait provides the most direct waterway ...

, Queensland, South Australia the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''no ...

and Chatham Islands of New Zealand and in New Caledonia.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q17186031, from2=Q15334583, from3=Q6707398, from4=Q77847889, from5=Q38235278 Lycopodiaceae Lycophyte genera Monotypic plant genera