From en.wikipedia.org:
[Genus of vascular plants in the family Lycopodiaceae] {{Automatic taxobox |
image = Lycopodium clavatum 151207.jpg | image_caption = _Lycopodium clavatum_
| taxon = Lycopodium | authority = L.<ref name=CFLW/> | type_species =
_Lycopodium clavatum_ | type_species_authority = L. | subdivision_ranks =
Species | subdivision = See text }}
_LYCOPODIUM_ (from Ancient Greek _lykos_, wolf and _podion_, diminutive of
_pous_, foot)[1] is a genus of clubmosses, also known as GROUND PINES or
CREEPING CEDARS,[2] in the family Lycopodiaceae. Two very different
circumscriptions of the genus are in use. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group
classification of 2016 (PPG I), _Lycopodium_ is one of nine genera in the
subfamily Lycopodioideae, and has from nine to 15 species.<ref name=CFLW/><ref
name=PPGI/> In other classifications, the genus is equivalent to the whole of
the subfamily, since it includes all of the other genera. More than 40
species are accepted.<ref name=POWO_30000138-2/>
** Description
[section] They are flowerless, vascular, terrestrial or epiphytic plants, with
widely branched, erect, prostrate, or creeping stems, with small, simple,
needle-like or scale-like leaves that cover the stem and branches thickly.<ref
name="EB1911" /> The stems usually creep along the ground, forking at
intervals.[3] The leaves contain a single, unbranched vascular strand, and are
microphylls by definition.<ref name="EB1911" /> They are usually arranged in
spirals.<ref name="Peninsula" /> The kidney-shaped (reniform) spore-cases
(sporangia) contain spores of one kind only, (isosporous, homosporous), and
are borne on the upper surface of the leaf blade of specialized leaves
(sporophylls) arranged in a cone-like strobilus at the end of upright
stems.<ref name=EB1911/> Each sporangium contains numerous small spores.<ref
name="Peninsula" /> The club-shaped appearance of these fertile stems gives
the clubmosses their common name.
Lycopods reproduce asexually by spores. The plants have an underground sexual
phase that produces gametes, and this alternates in the lifecycle with the
spore-producing plant. The prothallium developed from the spore is a
subterranean mass of tissue of considerable size, and bears both the male and
female organs (antheridia and archegonia).<ref name=EB1911/> They are more
commonly distributed vegetatively, though, through above- or below-ground
rhizomes.
** Taxonomy
The genus _Lycopodium_ was first published by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.[4] He
placed it in the Musci (mosses) along with genera such as _Sphagnum_, and
included species such as _Lycopodium selaginoides_,<ref name=Linn53>[mode=cs1
] now placed in the genus _Selaginella_ in a different order from
_Lycopodium_. Different sources use substantially different circumscriptions
of the genus. Traditionally, _Lycopodium_ was considered to be the only
extant genus in the family Lycopodiaceae, so includes all the species in the
family, although sometimes excluding one placed in the monotypic genus
_Phylloglossum_.<ref name=Spor66>[mode=cs1 ] Other sources divide
Lycopodiaceae species into three broadly defined genera, _Lycopodium_,
_Huperzia_ (including _Phylloglossum_) and _Lycopodiella_. In this approach,
_Lycopodium_ sensu lato has about 40 species.<ref
name=ChriChas14>[last1=Christenhusz ]<ref name=POWO_30000138-2/> In the
Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), the broadly
defined genus is equivalent to the subfamily Lycopodioideae, and _Lycopodium_
is one of 16 genera in the family Lycopodiaceae, with between 9 and 15
species.<ref name=CFLW/><ref name=PPGI/>
{| class="wikitable" |+ Varying circumscriptions of _Lycopodium_ |- !
Traditional<ref name=Spor66/> !! Christenhusz & Chase (2014)<ref
name=ChriChas14/> !! PPG I<ref name=PPGI/> |- |rowspan=2| _LYCOPODIUM_<br/>+
_Phylloglossum_ || _LYCOPODIUM_ s.l. || _LYCOPODIUM_ s.s. + 8 other genera
making up subfamily Lycopodioideae |- | Two other genera || 7 genera
(including _Phylloglossum_) in two subfamilies |}
*** Species
Using the narrow circumscription of _Lycopodium_, in which it is one of nine
genera in the subfamily Lycopodioideae, the _Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes
of the World_ recognized the following species [2024]:<ref name=CFLW/>
- _Lycopodium clavatum_ <small> L. </small> – stag's-horn clubmoss; subcosmopolitan
- _Lycopodium diaphanum_ <small> (P.Beauv.) Sw. </small> – Tristan da Cunha
- _Lycopodium japonicum_ <small> Thunb. </small> – eastern Asia (Japan west and south to India and Sri Lanka )
- _Lycopodium lagopus_ <small> (Laest. ex C.Hartm.) Zinserl. ex Kuzen. </small> – circumpolar arctic and subarctic
- _Lycopodium papuanum_ <small> Nessel </small> – New Guinea
- _Lycopodium venustulum_ <small> Gaudich. </small> – Hawaii , Western Samoa , the Society Islands
- _Lycopodium vestitum_ <small> Desv. ex Poir. </small> – northwest South America (Andes)
** Uses
The spores of _Lycopodium_ species are harvested and are sold as lycopodium
powder.
_Lycopodium _ sp. herb has been used in the traditional Austrian medicine
internally as tea or externally as compresses for treatment of disorders of
the locomotor system, skin, liver and bile, kidneys and urinary tract,
infections, rheumatism, and gout,[5] though claims of efficacy are unproven.
It has also been used in some United States government chemical warfare test
programs such as Operation Dew.<ref name=nrc>U.S. National Research Council,
Subcommittee on Zinc Cadmium Sulfide. _Toxicologic Assessment of the Army's
Zinc Cadmium Sulfide Dispersion_ (see
https://books.google.com/books?id=0YdRGhvBfRoC&pg=RA1-PA64&dq=%22Operation+Dew%22#PRA1-PA64,M1)
, National Academies Press, 1997, pp. 44–77, [0309057833]. _Lycopodium_
powder was also used to determine the molecular size of oleic acid.[date=June
2014]
** References
{{Reflist|refs= <ref name=CFLW>[taxon=Lycopodium ]
<ref name=POWO_30000138-2>[title= _Lycopodium_ L. ]
<ref name=PPGI>[mode=cs1 ]
<ref name=EB1911>[wstitle=Lycopodium ] }}
** External links
[Commons category] [Wikispecies]
- Burning _Lycopodium_ Powder: Simulating a Grain Elevator Explosion (see http://www.angelo.edu/faculty/kboudrea/demos/lycopodium/lycopodium.htm) by Kevin A. Boudreaux
[from=Q624488] [Authority control]
Category:Lycopodiaceae Category:Lycophyte genera