Lycopodiaceae
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Clubmoss family
Lycopodiaceae
ヒカゲノカズラ科
An extant family of the lycopsids (class Lycopodiopsida) that flourished extensively in the Carboniferous. Sporophytes are creeping or erect, bearing small scale-like leaves (microphylls) in spiral or opposite arrangement. Sporangia form in leaf axils or in strobili, and the plants are homosporous.
Key Characteristics
- ●Vascular but with microphylls (small leaves)
- ●Homosporous (one type of spore)
- ●Sporangia borne in leaf axils or terminal strobili
- ●Prothallus (gametophyte) subterranean with mycorrhizal association
- ●Stems dichotomously branching
Phylogenetic Position
Vascular plants > Lycophyta > Lycopodiopsida > Lycopodiales > Lycopodiaceae
Divergence Era
Devonian to Carboniferous (approx. 400 million years ago onward)
Representative Genera
ヒカゲノカズラ属（Lycopodium）トウゲシバ属（Huperzia）ミズスギ属（Lycopodiella）
Related Evolution Events
- ・Establishment of terrestrial colonization through acquisition of vascular tissue (xylem and phloem)
- ・Evolution into trees over 30 m tall as Lepidodendron in the Carboniferous (extant species are all herbaceous)
- ・Survival as small herbs after the end-Permian mass extinction
Plants in Clubmoss family on this site
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