24 FLORA. 



Family i. LYCOPODIACEAE Michx. 



Club-moss Family. 



Somewhat moss-like, erect or trailing terrestrial herbs with numerous 

 small lanceolate or subulate simple leaves, sometimes oblong or roundish, 

 arranged in 2-many ranks, the stems often elongated, usually freely 

 branching. Sporanges 1-3-celled, solitary in the axils of the leaves or on 

 their upper surfaces. Spores uniform, minute. Prothallia (as far as 

 known) mostly subterranean, with or without chlorophyll, monoecious. 

 Four genera and about 1 10 species. 



1. LYCOPODIUM L. Club-mosses. (See Appendix.) 



Perennial plants with evergreen I -nerved leaves arranged in 4-16 ranks. Spo- 

 ranges coriaceous, flattened, renifbrm, i-celled, situated in the axils of ordinary 

 leaves or in those of the upper modified, bract-like ones, which are imbricated in 

 sessile or peduncled spikes, opening transversely into 2 valves, usually by a line 

 around the margin. Spores all of one kind, copious, sulphur-yellow, readily in- 

 flammable from the abundant oil they contain. [Greek, meaning wolfs foot, per- 

 haps in allusion to the branching roots of some species.] About ioo species of 

 wide distribution. 



Sporanges borne in the axils of leaves which are similar to those of the stem. 

 Sporanges mostly wanting in the axils of the upper, mostly 8-ranked leaves. 

 Stems mostly erect, rigid; leaves uniform, ascending. 1. L. Selago. 



Stems somewhat lax, spreading; leaves spreading or deflexed, alternately longer 

 and shorter. 2. L. lucidulum. 



Sporanges only in the axils of the upper leaves forming terminal spikes ; leaves 

 many-ranked. 

 Plant slender; leaves acute, soft, mostly entire. 3. L. inundation. 



Plant stout; leaves narrow, spinulose-pointed, bristle-toothed below the middle. 



4. L. alopecuroides. 

 Sporanges borne in the axils of yellowish ovate or cordate scale-like leaves, which are very 

 unlike those of the sterile stems. 

 Stems leafy up to the base of the spike or nearly so. 

 Spikes erect, closely sessile. 



Stems erect, tree-like. 5. L. obscurum. 



Stems creeping with ascending branches. 



Leaves uniform, spreading, 5-ranked. 6. L. annotinum. 



Leaves of 2 forms, erect-imbricate, 4-ranked. 



7. L. alpinuni. 

 Spikes erect, short-peduncled ; leaves small, appressed, 4-ranked. 



8. L. sabinaefolium. 

 Fertile branches with minute leaves so that the spikes appear long-peduncled. 



Leaves uniform, many-ranked; stems terete. 9. L. clavation. 



Leaves of 2 forms, few-ranked ; stems flattened. 

 Sterile stems entirely creeping ; spikes solitary. 



10. L Carolinianum. 

 Sterile stems with fan-like ascending branches; spikes clustered. 



ex. L complanatum. 



1. Lycopodium Selago L. (I. F. f. 88.) Stems 7-15 cm. high, thick, rigid. 

 erect, 2-5 times forked, the branches forming a level-topped cluster. Leaves 

 crowded, uniform, ascending, elongated-lanceolate, mucronulate, entire or spinuA 

 lose-denticulate, nerved below, convex above, the upper mostly 8-ranked, sterile, 

 those below bearing the small sporanges in their axils, those of the lower half of 

 the stem again sterile ; plant propagated also by bud-like organs which have a 

 lower pointed brad and 2 or 3 upper fleshy and obovate ones. On rocks. Lab. 

 and ( rreenland to Alaska, south to the mountains of Me., N. II.. Vt. and X. X. Y., 

 on the summits of the higher Alleghenies to N. Car., and to Mich, and Wash. 

 Abo in Europe and Asia. 



2. Lycopodium lucidulum Michx. (I. F. f. 89.) Stems lax. ascending or 

 spreading, thick, 2 3 times forked, the branch' 1.5 3 dm. high. Leaves widely 

 spreading or reflexed, dark green, shining. 1 nerved, acute, minutely toothed, a 



mating with a series of shorter, the latter more frequently 

 bearing the sporanges at a short distance below the summit of the stem ; sporanges 



