genus Lycopodium. They grow mostly in woods, having 1-nerved evergreen leaves arranged in four or more ranks. Some of them make long strands, as the ground pine, and are much used for Christmas decorations. The spores are all of one kind or form, borne in 1-celled sporangia that open on the margin into two valves. The sporangia are borne in some species (Fig. 301) as small yellow bodies in the axils of the ordinary leaves near the tip of the shoot; in other species (Fig. 302) they are borne in the axils of small scales that form a catkin-like spike. The spores are very numerous, and they contain an oil that makes them inflammable. About 100 species of lycopodium are known. The plants grown by florists under the name of lycopodium are of the genus Selaginella, more closely allied to isoëtes, bearing two kinds of spores (microspores and macrospores).
An image should appear at this position in the text. To use the entire page scan as a placeholder, edit this page and replace "{{missing image}}" with "{{raw image|First course in biology (IA firstcourseinbio00bailrich).pdf/236}}". Otherwise, if you are able to provide the image then please do so. For guidance, see Wikisource:Image guidelines and Help:Adding images. |
Fig. 301.—A Lycopodium with Sporangia in the Axils of the Foliage Leaves. (Lycopodium lucidulum.)
An image should appear at this position in the text. To use the entire page scan as a placeholder, edit this page and replace "{{missing image}}" with "{{raw image|First course in biology (IA firstcourseinbio00bailrich).pdf/236}}". Otherwise, if you are able to provide the image then please do so. For guidance, see Wikisource:Image guidelines and Help:Adding images. |
Fig. 302.—A Club-moss (Lycopodium complanatum).