Clubmosses and their Relatives 



identification of this clubmoss "in the field," as already 

 pointed out, is the so-called interruptedness in the 

 foliage of the upright branches. 



The Lesser Alpine Clubmoss, Selagimlla spinosa, 

 though still popularly called a clubmoss, is no longer to 

 be regarded as a true Lycopodium. For a reason to be 

 immediately stated, it is now placed in a different order 

 or group of plants which we may call the Selaginella 

 Order. 



The Selaginellas differ from the clubmosses in pro- 

 ducing two different types of spores, a larger type and 

 a smaller type. The large spores are enclosed in com- 

 paratively large spore capsules, three or four to each 

 capsule, while the very numerous small spores are 

 crowded into much smaller capsules. The smaller 

 capsules, with their very minute spores, are more 

 numerous than the larger capsules. The large spores 

 produce prothallia with female organs only, while the 

 smaller produce the male elements necessary for the 

 .fertilisation of the egg-cells in the female prothallia. 



Our only native Selaginella, the plant referred to 

 above, is a much more delicate-looking plant than the 

 true clubmoss. It has prostrate and upright stems. 

 Some of the latter are barren, while others contain the 

 spore capsules in the axils of the tiny spinous leaves, 

 which are of a delicate and transparent texture. 



Though this plant is by no means rare, it often 

 escapes the observation of even the keenest of botanists, 

 owing to its small size and to its very strong re- 

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