Lycopodiella Holub, Preslia

Øllgaard, Benjamin, Kessler, Michael & Smith, Alan R., 2018, Prodromus of a fern flora for Bolivia. II. Lycopodiaceae, Phytotaxa 334 (3), pp. 255-294 : 259-261

Lycopodiella Holub, Preslia 36: 20, 22. 1964

= Lycopodium sect. Inundata Pritzel, Nat. Pflanzenfam. 1(4): 601. 1902.

= Lycopodium subgen. Lycopodiella (Holub) B.Øllg., Amer. Fern J. 69(2): 49. 1979.

Lycopodiella is characterized by sporophytes with usually prostrate, rooting, indeterminate stems, isophyllous to slightly anisophyllous, horizontally branching shoots, and dorsally arising, erect, simple (rarely forked) strobiliferous branches; leaves of erect branches conform with leaves of prostrate shoots, or somewhat reduced; sporophylls arranged in alternating whorls of 5 or more, forming 10 or more longitudinal ranks, free, not enclosing the sporangia in cavities at maturity, subpeltate, with triangular cross-section of the immature stalk, with veinal and basal mucilage canals; sporangia axillary, transversely oblong, with a thin stalk, anisovalvate; sporangial epidermal cells with semiannular, lignified thickenings; epiterranean, photosynthetic gametophytes; and x = 78.

The genus has 12 or more species in the north-temperate regions and tropical America south to northern Argentina. The South American representatives of the genus were earlier referred to Lycopodiella alopecuroides (L.) Holub, but this species, sensu stricto, is limited to North America and Cuba. There are two species in the Andes (one in Bolivia), and four in Brazil. Several interspecific hybrids between homoploid species are known in North America, and these form normal spores ( Bruce 1975).