''Selaginella erythropus'' is a species of
plant
Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...
in the
Selaginellaceae
''Selaginella'' is the sole genus of vascular plants in the family Selaginellaceae, the spikemosses or lesser clubmosses.
This family is distinguished from Lycopodiaceae
The Lycopodiaceae (class Lycopodiopsida, order Lycopodiales) are an o ...
family, endemic to the
Yucatan and
Belize
Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...
to
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
and was introduced to
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
. It grows up to 30–40 cm in height with a bright red main stem. It likes plentiful water and humidity and enjoys temperatures of 50-75 degrees Fahrenheit (10-24 degrees Celsius). The top of the plant is green and the undersides of the leaves are a bright, ruby red color. It is a species of spike moss (also known as clubmoss) which is related to the fern family. Spike mosses reproduce through spores just like ferns do.
Synonyms
* ''Lycopodium erythropus'' Mart.
References
* ''Fl. Bras.'' 1(2): 125 1840.
The Plant ListJSTOREEncyclopedia of Life
erythropus
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