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Phylum Lycophyta (or Lycopodophyta) -- club mosses or ground pines or lycopods
Lycophyta comprises only five or six extant genera (many more extinct taxa) of which three occur in Texas. Lycopodium is common in east Texas, Isoetes occurs on granite outcrops in the hill country; Selaginella occurs throughout the state, although some species are easily mistaken for mosses.

Lycopodium is homosporous--all spores are roughly equal in size. Selaginella and Isoetes are heterosporous--spores are of two distinct sizes, microspores and megaspores.

Genus Lycopodium

   Lycopodium growing wild (Hawaii)

  Lycopodium alopecuroides (below) is common in east Texas.
 
Lycopodium lucidulum
 
Lycopodium alopecuroides

 
Lycopodium annotinum
 
Lycopodium flabelliforme
   
   

 
Lycopodium lucidulum lacks strobili
 
Lycopodium alopercuroides strobili are not especially distinct from the rest of the plant.
 
Lycopodium annotinum strobilus
 
Lycopodium flabelliforme strobili
   


Lycopodium lucidulum, sporangia, 10x

 
Lycopodium lucidulum, dissected sporangia, 20x
 
 
Lycopodium sp. l.s. 20x
 

 
Lycopodium sp. l.s. 20x

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