''Selaginella tortipila'' is a species of
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 ...
in the family
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 ...
.
[ and is a member of an early diverging group of plants. It is native to the ]Southeastern United States
The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the southern United States and the southern por ...
where it is found in a small area in the Southern Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...
and Piedmont
it, Piemontese
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
. It is found on granite or sandstone rock outcrop communities, often at high elevation.Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States
/ref>
''Selaginella tortipila'' is a rather distinct species of spikemoss, and likely has no close relatives in the North American flora. It has been placed in the ''Bryodesma'' group, along with ''Selaginella rupestris
''Selaginella rupestris'', the northern selaginella sometimes locally known as ledge spike-moss or rock spike-moss, is a species of spike-moss occurring in dry rocky places in eastern North America, including one locality in Greenland
Gree ...
''.[Flora of North America]
/ref>
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q16992500
tortipila
Taxa named by Alexander Braun