SELAGINELLACEyC. 



133 



Two forms 



of Selag^inella 



Leaves. 



rows, and in the other they are of two forms and 

 arranged in four rows. Of these four rows, two contain 

 large leaves and two contain small ones. The large 

 leaves are in the two rows on the sides of the stem, 

 while the small ones are on the up- 

 per side of the stem and alternate 

 with them. 



The fruit is borne at the ends of 

 the branches, a spore -case in the 

 axil of each leaf. In some species 

 the fertile spikes are hardly to be 

 distinguished from the ordinary 

 branches, while in others the spore- 

 bearing leaves are yellowish in 

 colour, more or less changed in 

 shape, and are assembled in little cones as 

 in most lycopodiums. Often these cones are 

 distinctly four -sided. The sporangia are 

 nearly spherical and open transversely at Leaf of 



the apex, llie species mamly iruit late m mfestris. 



. ^ (Enlarged.) 



the year. 



There are nearly four hundred species of SclagincUa 

 known to science, the great majority being found in the 

 tropics, where their size and abundance render them a 

 conspicuous part of the undergrowth in woods and on 

 moist banks. In our region they are usually so small 

 and moss-like as to be easily overlooked. The plants 

 from the warmer parts of the world are often character- 

 ised by a delicacy in form and colour that causes them 

 to be in great demand for culti\'ation in conservatories 

 nearer the Poles. Several of them are climbing species. 

 The famous resurrection-plant, or resurrection-moss, sold 

 under various other names to the curious, is a species 

 of Sclas'iv-clla. 



