''Selaginella bifida'' is a

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 ...

native to

Rodrigues Island Rodrigues (french: Île Rodrigues, link=yes ; Creole: ) is a autonomous outer island of the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, about east of Mauritius. It is part of the Mascarene Islands, which include Mauritius and Réunion. Rodr ...

in the

Mascarene Islands The Mascarene Islands (, ) or Mascarenes or Mascarenhas Archipelago is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar consisting of the islands belonging to the Republic of Mauritius as well as the French department of Réunion. Thei ...

. It was found firstly in 1991 on the Mont Limon at 20–150 m high and was confused with ''S. rodrigueziana'' Baker because of their strong phenotypical homologies. However, fastidious studies in 2009 highlight ciliate lateral leaf margins on several specimens and bifid microsporophyll apices during the emergence of reproductive parts, which differentiate a new taxon.

References

* Delmail D. (2009) - ''Selaginella bifida'' sp. nov. (Selaginellaceae: Pteridophyta) from Rodrigues Island, Mauritius. Nordic Journal of Botany, 27: 178–181

* IPN

External links

Selaginella, bifida Endemic flora of Rodrigues Plants described in 2009 {{Lycophyte-stub