''Phylloglossum'', a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

in the

clubmoss Lycopodiopsida is a class of vascular plants known as lycopods, lycophytes or other terms including the component lyco-. Members of the class are also called clubmosses, firmosses, spikemosses and quillworts. They have dichotomously branching s ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Lycopodiaceae The Lycopodiaceae (class Lycopodiopsida, order Lycopodiales) are an old family of vascular plants, including all of the core clubmosses and firmosses, comprising 16 accepted genera and about 400 known species. This family originated about 380 mil ...

, is a small plant superficially resembling a tiny

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

plant, growing with a rosette of slender

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

2–5 cm long from an underground

bulb In botany, a bulb is structurally a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs duri ...

-like

root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the sur ...

. It has a single central stem up to 5 cm tall bearing a

spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, f ...

-producing cone at the apex, and was previously classified variously in the family

or in its own family the Phylloglossaceae, but recent genetic evidence demonstrates it is most closely related to the genus ''

Huperzia ''Huperzia'' is a genus of Lycopodiopsida, lycophyte plants, sometimes known as the firmosses or fir clubmosses; the ''Flora of North America'' calls them gemma fir-mosses. This genus was originally included in the related genus ''Lycopodium'', f ...

'' and is a sister clade to the genus ''

Phlegmariurus ''Phlegmariurus'' is a genus of lycophyte plants in the family Lycopodiaceae. The genus is recognized in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), but not by some other sources, which keep it in a broadly defined ''Huperzia ...

'', which was formerly included in ''Huperzia''. Morphological characters, as well as molecular characters based on ''rbc''L data, support the close relationship of ''Phylloglossum'' to ''Huperzia''. Similarities in spore morphology, sporangial epidermis morphology, phytochemistry, and chromosome number indicate that ''Phylloglossum'' and ''Huperzia'' are closely related. A morphological character that complicates this is the presence of a perenniating tuber in ''Phylloglossum,'' which has, in the past, misled scientists to place it more closely to the genus ''Lycopodiella''. ''Phylloglossum'' is unique within Lycopodiaceae due to this perenniating tuber, which is a reduced stem system that has developed to be considered a new organ. Its gametophyte is non-photosynthetic at first, getting its nutrients from mycorrhiza, but develops a photosynthetic crown as it matures.Observations on the mature gametophyte of Phylloglossum (Lycopodiaceae)
/ref> The only species, ''Phylloglossum drummondii'' (pygmy clubmoss), is a native of

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 ...

(southwestern

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, southern

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

and

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

) and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

(

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

References

External links

* *

Gallery

File:Phylloglossum drummondii.png, ''Phylloglossum drummondii''. The dashed line is the ground level File:Phylloglossum drummondii 2.jpg, Fertile plant producing two new tubers in one growing season by bifurcation of the distal end of the tuber stalk File:Phylloglossum drummondii 3.jpg, Six-leaved plant with two roots, the full length of one of which is shown in its natural position. The very numerous

root hair Root hair, or absorbent hairs, are outgrowths of epidermal cells, specialized cells at the tip of a plant root. They are lateral extensions of a single cell and are only rarely branched. They are found in the region of maturation, of the root. Root ...

s are merely indicated diagrammatically as are the hairs on the new

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing ...

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4993437, from2=Q17138196 Lycopodiaceae Monotypic plant genera Lycophyte genera