LYCOPODIACEAE

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.

Contents

Uses

References and external links

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.

★ In Cornwall, club mosses gathered during certain lunar phases were historically used as a remedy for eye disease.

References and external links

★ The Folk-lore of Plants, , Thomas F., Thiselton-Dyer, , ,

★ 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)