A low-growing flowerless plant that resembles a large moss, having branching stems with undivided leaves.
Class Lycopsida, division Pteridophyta: three living families, in particular Lycopodiaceae and Selaginellaceae (the lesser clubmosses)
Example sentencesExamples
At left is a picture of the clubmoss Lycopodium obscurum showing the habit of the plant and position of the strobili, or cones.
Extant vascular plants range from clubmosses and ferns and their allies (such as whisk ferns and horsetails) to complex seed plants, comprising gymnosperms and angiosperms.
On the other hand, the trait ‘megaphyll’ (as opposed to ‘microphyll’) unites the fern and the flowering plant into a group, excluding the clubmoss.
Alternatively, in Cumbria we are looking for volunteers to help carry out a survey for two unusual rarities - marsh clubmoss and pillwort.
Of the 900 species of lycophytes (clubmosses) recognized, only four C-values are available.