Selaginellaceae
Read about Selaginellaceae in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
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Selaginellaceae (from the genus Selaginella, diminutive of Selago, ancient name of Lycopodium). Selaginella Family. Fig 1. Moss-like or lycopodium-like plants, often of moderate size, usually profusely and dichotomously branched, more rarely monopodial; creeping, pendent or erect, sometimes climbing and several meters long, or minute and 1-3 cm. long: leaves moss-like, very small, usually densely placed, often imbricated, often of two sizes (the branches therefore strongly dorsiventral); ligule present, borne at the base of the leaf on the upper side: roots borne on "rhizophores" which are probably modified branches: spores of two sorts (microspores and macrospores) in separate sporangia, borne in the leaf axils: sporophylls frequently modified, forming a cone or spike: prothallia endosporous, the spore wall of the macrospores soon rupturing and exposing the archegonia. The one genus, Selaginella, and about 500 species are widely distributed, but mostly tropical. The majority prefer damp forests, but some (e.g., S. rupestris) are xerophytic. Three species are native in the eastern United States. The family is related to the Lycopodiaceae superficially, but not in the spores and in the prothallia, which are more closely allied to another family, the Isoetaceae. The habit, the foliar ligule, the undifferentiated spores, and the endosporous prothallia are distinctive. The spores of Selaginella have been used in the same manner as those of Lycopodium, but are less easily obtainable. S. concinna and S. obtusa have been used for diarrhea and dysentery. Several Mexican species are used locally for medicine. S. convoluta is employed in the East Indies as an aphrodisiac. The rosette-like S. lepidophylla of Mexico is the best-known "resurrection plant." When dry, it rolls into a ball and becomes brown; when the air is humid, the branches spread out and the green upper surfaces are exposed. Many species of Selaginella are in choice American collections, but very few are commonly in the trade. They are mostly grown for greenhouse and for table decoration under the name of "lycopodium."CH
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References
- Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
External links
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