''Phlegmariurus phlegmaria'',

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

''Huperzia phlegmaria'', commonly known as either coarse tassel fern or common tassel fern, is an epiphytic species native to rainforests in Madagascar, some islands in the Indian Ocean, Asia, Australasia and many Pacific Islands. ''Phlegmariurus phlegmaria'' is commonly found in moist forests and rainforests at high altitudes, in and amongst mosses and other epiphytes. Members of the order Lycopodiales are commonly referred to as clubmosses.

Description

A vascular species of lycophyte, ''Phlegmariurus phlegmaria'' resembles many species of moss. The specialised fluid-conducting tissues of vascular plants distinguish lycophytes from the more basal bryophytes (mosses and liverworts). The diploid ''

sporophyte A sporophyte () is the diploid multicellular stage in the life cycle of a plant or alga which produces asexual spores. This stage alternates with a multicellular haploid gametophyte phase. Life cycle The sporophyte develops from the zygote pr ...

'' stage of the life cycle of lycophytes is dominant. Sporophytes produce tetrahedral spores of 37 × 35 μm, off-white in colour, with angles never exceeding 130°.Devi Y.S., Singh P.K. (2011) Additional Notes on Spore Morphology of Two ''Huperzia'' (Lycopodiaceae) Species and Systematic Significance, Research Journal of Botany vol:6, pg:78-86 ''Phlegmariurus phlegmaria'' is a variable species and plants from different regions can vary widely in stature.Wikström N., Kendrick P., Chase M. (1999) Epiphytism and terrestrialisation in tropical ''Huperzia'' (Lycopodiaceae), Plant Systematics and Evolution vol:218, pg:221-243 They can be identified by having petiolate sterile microphylls and small fertile microphylls on thin branching strobili. Individuals of ''Phlegmariurus phlegmaria'' have true root systems. Their elongated aerial stems hang from host trees (up to 80 cm long). The spirally arranged leaves are lanceolate (lance like), narrow and rounded at the base. They become even narrower at the extreme base, where the sporangia are located in the fertile zone of the stem. Leaves of ''Phlegmariurus phlegmaria'' are coriaceous (resemble leather). The leaves differ in morphology in the fertile zone, making distinction between the zones easy. Leaves in the fertile zone are known as sporophylls. Sporophylls are club shaped - hence the common name "clubmoss". Homosporous spores are produced in axils.

Native distribution

''Phlegmariurus phlegmaria'' is native to east, west and south tropical Africa (in Cameroon;

Comoros The Comoros,, ' officially the Union of the Comoros,; ar, الاتحاد القمري ' is an independent country made up of three islands in southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. It ...

;

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...

; Gabon; Ghana; Madagascar; Malawi;

São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe (; pt, São Tomé e Príncipe (); English: " Saint Thomas and Prince"), officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe ( pt, República Democrática de São Tomé e Príncipe), is a Portuguese-speaking i ...

; Sierra Leone; Tanzania (including the Zanzibar Archipelago); and Uganda); temperate and tropical Asia (in the Chinese provinces of Guangdong,

Guangxi Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...

, Hainan, Yunnan; the southern

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

, and the Ryukyu Islands; Malaysia;

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

; Taiwan; and Thailand); Australasia (in the northeast of Queensland in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

; and New Zealand); and the northwest and southwest Pacific (in

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

; Guam; and the Chuuk island group of Micronesia). It is likely native, but yet to be reported, in other

paleotropic The Paleotropical Kingdom (Paleotropis) is a floristic kingdom comprising tropical areas of Africa, Asia and Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand), as proposed by Ronald Good and Armen Takhtajan. Part of its flora, inherited from the ancient ...

locales.

Biotechnology

Many clubmosses produce highly flammable spores. Historically clubmoss spore coats have been used in the formation of fireworks and used in flash powders in the early life of photography. Clubmoss spores have also been used in the production of fingerprint powder and in the pharmaceutical industry to coat pills.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q15248251, from2=Q287995, from3=Q21976249 phlegmaria Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Ferns of Asia Epiphytes Rare flora of Australia Flora of Queensland Flora of China Flora of the Comoros Flora of Fiji Flora of Ghana Flora of Japan Flora of the Ryukyu Islands Flora of Madagascar Flora of Malawi Flora of Malaysia Flora of New Zealand Flora of the Northwestern Pacific Flora of Sierra Leone Flora of Sri Lanka Flora of Taiwan Flora of Tanzania Flora of the Zanzibar Archipelago Flora of Thailand Flora of the Tubuai Islands Flora of Uganda Flora of West-Central Tropical Africa