Lycopodiaceae
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 Lycopodium annotinum
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Diphasiastrum |
The Lycopodiaceae (class Lycopodiopsida, order Lycopodiales) is a family of primitive vascular plants, including all of the core clubmosses. These plants bear spores on specialized structures at the apex of a shoot; they resemble a tiny battle club, from which the common name derives. They are non-flowering and do not produce seeds.
The genera Huperzia, Phlegmariurus and Phylloglossum, the species of which were generally included in a more broadly defined Lycopodium in older classifications, are treated in the separate family Huperziaceae in some classifications; they differ in producing spores in small lateral structures in the leaf axils. There is as yet no consensus on the recognition of Huperziaceae as a separate family; a more broadly defined Lycopodiaceae, including these genera, is still recognized in some classifications.
[edit] Uses
The spores have been used by violin makers for centuries as a pore filler. This filler is commercially available through Howard Core and Associates.
[edit] References and external links
- Wagner, W. H. Jr. & J. M. Beitel. 1992. Generic classification of modern North American Lycopodiaceae. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 79: 676-686.
- Lycopodiaceae in Flora of North America (follows a broad circumscription of the family, including Huperziaceae)
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