14 ENGLISH BOTANY. 



SPECIES IT.— L YCOPODIUM INUNDATUM. Linn. 



Plate 1831. 

 Mabenh. Crypt. Vase. Europ. No. 65. 



Stem short, creeping, prostrate, applied to, and on the under side 

 actually imbedded in the ground, simple or very sparingly branched ; 

 branches at first ascending, afterwards prostrate. Leaves inserted 

 all round the stem, approximate, all turned upwards and slightly 

 falcated so as to be secund, or a few of them on the under side of the 

 stem adpressed to it, strap-shaped linear, tapering gradually to a very 

 acute point, not pungent nor bristle-pointed, entire. Fertile branches 

 1 on each stem, rarely 2 at intervals, very rarely 2 close together, 

 erect, densely leafy. Leaves on fertile branches similar to those of the 

 stem, but ascending or adpressed, not secund. Spike occupying from 

 half to one-third of the upper part of the fertile branch, oblong- 

 fusiform or clavate-cylindrical, with its bracts resembling the leaves 

 but larger, and broader towards the base, which has usually 1 tooth 

 or sometimes 2 teeth on each side. 



On damp heaths, growing generally on peat or sand. Rather 

 frequent and generally distributed in England, with the exception of 

 Wales. Rare and local in Scotland, where it occurs on Tent's Muir, 

 Fife ; Inverarnon, Dumbarton ; and in the counties of Perth, Forfar, 

 Elgin, Inverness, Ross, and perhaps Kincardine. In Ireland it 

 appears to be very scarce, but has been found in counties Cork, Kerry, 

 and in the Connemara district of Gralway. 



England, Scotland, Ireland. Perennial. Summer, Autumn. 



Stem 1 to 4 inches long, attached to the soil at intervals by wiry 

 roots. Fertile branches 1 to 4 inches high. Leaves ^ to ^ inch long, 

 rather dull green, especially the older ones, not shining, with a slender 

 midrib and a narrow hyaline margin. Spike always thicker than the 

 fertile branch that supports it, f to 2 inches long. Bracts i to ^ 

 inch long, at first adpressed, afterwards spreading, and ultimately 

 yellowish-olive. Sporangia transversely oval, opening near the base. 



This is the only British Lycopodium in which the barren stems are 

 annual, the basal portion dying off each year. 



The American plant, called L. inundatum, is larger and stouter, 

 with much longer and more subulate leaves, often with a few denticu- 

 lations. The spike is much more conspicuous than in the European 

 plant, and begins abruptly, and the leaves on its stalk have a tendency 

 to be verticillate, and are more distant. Probably it ought to be 



