''Pseudolycopodium'' is a genus of

lycophyte The lycophytes, when broadly circumscribed, are a vascular plant (tracheophyte) subgroup of the kingdom Plantae. They are sometimes placed in a division Lycopodiophyta or Lycophyta or in a subdivision Lycopodiophytina. They are one of the oldes ...

in the family

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 m ...

with only one species, ''Pseudolycopodium densum'', known as the bushy clubmoss. In the

Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group The Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group, or PPG, is an informal international group of systematic botanists who collaborate to establish a consensus on the classification of pteridophytes ( lycophytes and ferns) that reflects knowledge about plant relatio ...

classification of 2016 (PPG I), the genus is placed in the subfamily

Lycopodioideae ''Lycopodioideae'' is a subfamily in the family Lycopodiaceae in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). It is equivalent to a broad circumscription of the genus '' Lycopodium'' in other classifications. Like all lycoph ...

. Some sources do not recognize the genus, sinking it into ''

Lycopodium ''Lycopodium'' (from Greek ''lykos'', wolf and ''podion'', diminutive of ''pous'', foot) is a genus of clubmosses, also known as ground pines or creeping cedars, in the family Lycopodiaceae. Two very different circumscriptions of the genus are i ...

''. ''Pseudolycopodium densum'' is native to Australia, the North Island of New Zealand and New Caledonia. It is a spore-bearing vascular plant and grows up to a metre high. It is found in a wide variety of situations, often in high rainfall areas on sandy soils.

Taxonomy

The species was first described in 1807 by

Jacques Labillardière Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière (28 October 1755 – 8 January 1834) was a French biologist noted for his descriptions of the flora of Australia. Labillardière was a member of a voyage in search of the La Pérouse expedition. He pub ...

, as ''Lycopodium densum''. However, the name had already been used for a different species, so this name is

illegitimate Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as '' ...

. Hence when

Werner Rothmaler Werner Walter Hugo Paul Rothmaler (born 20 August 1908 in Sangerhausen, died 13 April 1962 in Leipzig) was a German botanist and from 1953 until 1962 head of the Institute for Agricultural Biology of the University of Greifswald. His areas of exper ...

in 1944 placed the species in the genus ''Lepidotis'' as ''Lepidotis densa'', this was the first legitimate use of the epithet. In 1983,

Josef Holub Josef may refer to *Josef (given name) *Josef (surname) Josef is the surname of the following people: * Jens Josef (born 1967), German composer of classical music, a flutist and academic teacher * Michelle Josef (born 1954), Canadian musician and tr ...

placed the species in his genus ''Pseudolycopodium''. This placement is accepted in the

classification of 2016 (PPG I), and by the ''Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World'' . Other sources retain the species in its original genus, ''Lycopodium'', where the legitimate name is ''Lycopodium deuterodensum'' Herter.

Distribution and habitat

''Pseudolycopodium'' (as ''Lycopodium deuterodensum'') grows in open forest, scrub or heath in eastern New South Wales, southern Victoria, Tasmania (including Bass Strait Islands, Queensland, South Australia the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

and

Chatham Island Chatham Island ( ) (Moriori: ''Rēkohu'', 'Misty Sun'; mi, Wharekauri) is by far the largest island of the Chatham Islands group, in the south Pacific Ocean off the eastern coast of New Zealand's South Island. It is said to be "halfway bet ...

s of New Zealand and in New Caledonia.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q17186031, from2=Q15334583, from3=Q6707398, from4=Q77847889, from5=Q38235278 Lycopodiaceae Lycophyte genera Monotypic plant genera