644 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE 
which give rise to a scale-like cellular body, called a prothallus, upon which 
sexual organs are developed, by which is in turn produced an embryo 
capable of growth into a plant like that on which the spore originated. 
In Selaginella the stem is always slender, erect, or trailing, and repeatedly 
forking, often in one plane only. The leaves are small, simple, in four 
rows, overlapping; on the upper side near its base the leaf bears a 
process called a ligule. The spore-case (sporange) springs from the 
upper side of the leaf beneath the ligule. The fertile leaves form a 
compact, square, terminal spike (Plate 303, Fig. 1). The species are 
distributed over the whole of the globe, but abound chiefly in the 
Tropics; only one occurs in Britain. 
These plants were formerly included among the 
Lycopodiacee, and as cultivated plants may be considered 
quite modern; the larger number of species, in truth, are of recent 
discovery and introduction. Among the earliest to receive attention was 
Selaginella kraussiana, commonly known as S. denticulata, introduced 
from Madeira in 1779, the variety awrea being introduced in 1878; 
S. apus, from Canada, in 1819; and S. grandis, from Borneo, in 1882. 
The handsome, erect-growing S. tassellata came from Brazil in 1887. 
S. serpens exhibits a remarkable change of colour in the living plant— 
in the morning it is bright green, but as the day advances it gradually 
becomes very pale, almost white. This is due to the contraction of the 
green colouring matter of the cells under the influence of sunlight. 
Another species, 8. lepidophylla, is hygrometrie; when dried, its stems 
and branches contract and curl into a ball, and in this condition it is sold 
in fancy warehouses under the name of Resurrection Plant. When 
placed in water it uncurls and assumes it natural shape. 
SELAGINELLA APUS (footless). Stems trailing, densely 
matted, 2 to 4 inches long, with distant, short, half-erect, 
half-spreading branches. Spikes } to} inch long. Stove or green- 
house. Also known as S. apoda and ‘s densa. 
S. ATROVIRIDIS (blackish green). Stems half-erect, 6 to 12 inches 
long, much branched. Spikes 4} to 1 inch long. Tropical Asia. Stove. 
S. CAULESCENS (stemmed). Stems stiff and erect, 6 to 12 inches 
high, branched above only. Spikes } to 4 inch long. Tropical Asia. 
tove. 
S. EryrHropus (red-footed). Stems crimson, about 9 inches long, 
unbranched so far as regards the lower third, above this much branched, 
and the whole triangular. Tropical America. Stove. 
S. GRANDIS (great). Stems erect, 1} to 2 feet long. Lower half 
unbranched, much branched in fan-shape above. Stove. 
History. 
Principal Species. 
