Huperzioideae is a subfamily of
lycopsids 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 ...
. It has sometimes been recognized as a separate family, Huperziaceae. 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) recognizes three extant genera:
[
*'']Huperzia
''Huperzia'' is a genus of 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'', from which it dif ...
'' (temperate firmosses); about 25 species; terrestrial.
*''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 ...
'' (tropical firmosses); about 250 species; previously included in ''Huperzia''; mainly epiphytes.
*''Phylloglossum
''Phylloglossum'', a genus in the clubmoss family Lycopodiaceae, is a small plant superficially resembling a tiny grass plant, growing with a rosette of slender leaves 2–5 cm long from an underground bulb-like root. It has a single centr ...
'' (pygmy clubmoss); formerly thought to be only distantly related to ''Huperzia''. This is a terrestrial, grass-like plant with basal, 2–5 cm long, fleshy leaves. The only accepted species is '' Phylloglossum drummondii''.
The plants are distinct from those of other members of the Lycopodiaceae in having erect (not creeping) growth; and in their spore-bearing structures being produced in the axils of unmodified leaves, rather than in terminal club-like structures. The subfamily also has a basal chromosome count of ''n''=67, versus counts of ''n''=23, 34 in the Lycopodiaceae.
References
External links
Flora of North America: ''Huperzia''Flora of North America: ''Phlegmariurus''
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q30109309, from2=Q2712709
Lycopodiaceae
Plant subfamilies