Pseudolycopodiella Holub (1983: 441)

Øllgaard, Benjamin & Testo, Weston, 2021, The Lycopodiaceae of Panamá, Phytotaxa 526 (1), pp. 1-66 : 60

Pseudolycopodiella Holub (1983: 441) .

Type: Pseudolycopodiella caroliniana (L.) Holub (= Lycopodium carolinianum L. )

Lycopodium sect. Caroliniana Bruce (1976: 136) .— Lycopodiella sect. Caroliniana (Bruce) B.Øllgaard (1987: 174) . Type: Lycopodium carolinianum L.

Sporophytes with prostrate, rooting, indeterminate, isophyllous to strongly anisophyllous, horizontally branching shoots, and dorsally arising, erect, simple strobiliferous branches. Leaves of strobiliferous branches conform to leaves of prostrate shoots or strongly reduced and distant; sporophylls arranged in alternating whorls of 3–5, rarely decussate, forming 4–10 (–12) longitudinal ranks, free, not enclosing the sporangia at maturity, without veinal mucilage canals. Sporangia isovalvate, reniform, widely attached to the sporophyll stalk. Sporangium epidermis cells with incompletely lignified or incompletely semiannular thickenings. Spores rugate, with a distinct equatorial rim.

Temperate and tropical America, Paleotropics, absent from Europe.

Most species grow on moist or boggy, sandy soil. Some species are adapted to seasonal drought. The genus includes an estimated 10–15 species, some of them may represent complexes of various undescribed taxa. The highest diversity is in South America.