Huperzia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Firmosses
Huperzia lucidula in Ohio
Huperzia lucidula in Ohio
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Lycopodiophyta
Class: Lycopodiopsida
Order: Lycopodiales
Family: Huperziaceae
Genus: Huperzia
Species

About 400 species; see text

Huperzia is a genus of Lycophyte plants, sometimes known as the Firmosses or Fir clubmosses. These species have traditionally been included in the related genus Lycopodium, but the trend in recent treatments has been to place them in a separate genus. The common name firmoss, used for some of the north temperate species, refers to their superficial resemblance to branches of fir (Abies), a conifer. In Australia, the epiphytic species are commonly known as Tassel ferns.

The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, with about 400 species. Some botanists however split Huperzia into two genera, Huperzia in the narrow sense including 10-15 species of terrestrial temperate to arctic species, and the rest in Phlegmariurus, a primarily tropical to subtropical genus of mainly epiphytic species. Huperzia and its relatives are included in the family Huperziaceae in some classifications, or alternatively in a more broadly defined Lycopodiaceae in others.

The plants of this genus generally have radial ranks of entire, linear to lanceolate evergreen leaves and dichotomously-branched (forking) vegetative stems. The spores are borne in kidney-shaped sporangia borne individually on the stem at the bases of unmodified or reduced leaves.

Unlike clubmosses, firmosses grow in clusters rather than running. The roots are produced in the tips of the shoots, growing downward in cortex to emerge at soil level. Horizontal stems are absent.

Selected species
  • Huperzia acerosa
  • Huperzia appalachiana - Appalachian firmoss
  • Huperzia attenuata
  • Huperzia balansae
  • Huperzia billardieri
  • Huperzia brachiata
  • Huperzia bradeorum
  • Huperzia brevifolia
  • Huperzia campiana
  • Huperzia capellae
  • Huperzia capillaris
  • Huperzia carinata
  • Huperzia chamaeleon
  • Huperzia compacta
  • Huperzia crassa
  • Huperzia cumingii
  • Huperzia cuneifolia
  • Huperzia curvifolia
  • Huperzia dacrydioides
  • Huperzia dentata
  • Huperzia dichaeoides
  • Huperzia dichotoma (Phlegmariurus dichotomus)
  • Huperzia ericifolia
  • Huperzia eversa
  • Huperzia filiformis
  • Huperzia foliacea
  • Huperzia fordii
  • Huperzia funiformis
  • Huperzia heteroclita
  • Huperzia hippuridea
  • Huperzia hippuris
  • Huperzia hoffmannii
  • Huperzia holstii
  • Huperzia homocarpa
  • Huperzia horizontalis
  • Huperzia hystrix
  • Huperzia lancifolia
  • Huperzia lindenii
  • Huperzia linifolia
  • Huperzia lockyeri
  • Huperzia lucidula - shining firmoss
  • Huperzia manii
  • Huperzia megastachya
  • Huperzia mesoamericana
  • Huperzia mollicoma
  • Huperzia myrsinites
  • Huperzia nummularifolia
  • Huperzia ophioglossoides
  • Huperzia pflanzii
  • Huperzia phlegmaria
  • Huperzia phlegmarioides
  • Huperzia pithyodes
  • Huperzia pittieri
  • Huperzia polycarpos
  • Huperzia polydactyla
  • Huperzia porophila - rock firmoss
  • Huperzia prolifera
  • Huperzia reflexa
  • Huperzia rosenstockiana
  • Huperzia rufescens
  • Huperzia sarmentosa
  • Huperzia selago - Northern firmoss
  • Huperzia serratoa
  • Huperzia sieboldii
  • Huperzia squarrosa
  • Huperzia subulata
  • Huperzia talamanca
  • Huperzia tauri
  • Huperzia taxifolia
  • Huperzia tenuis
  • Huperzia tetragona
  • Huperzia tetrasticha
  • Huperzia tubulosa
  • Huperzia unguiculata
  • Huperzia verticillata
  • Huperzia wilsonii

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