Lycopodiophyta

The Division Lycopodiophyta (sometimes called lycophyta or lycopods) is a

tracheophyte subgroup of the Kingdom Plantae. It is one of the oldest lineages of extant
Lycopodiophyta
(living) vascular plants and contains extinct plants like Baragwanathia that have been Temporal range: 428–0 Ma
dated from the Silurian (ca. 425 million years ago).[3][4] These species reproduce by PreЄ Є OS D C P T J K Pg N
shedding spores and have macroscopic alternation of generations, although some are Silurian[1] to recent
homosporous while others are heterosporous. Most members of Lycopodiophyta bear a
protostele, and the sporophyte generation is dominant.[5] They differ from all other
vascular plants in having microphylls, leaves that have only a single vascular trace (vein)
rather than the much more complexmegaphylls found in ferns and seed plants.

Contents
Classification
Evolution
Characteristics
Gallery
References
External links

Lycopodiella inundata
Classification Scientific classification
There are around 1,290[6] (Christenhusz & Byng 2016 [7] ) living (extant) species of
Kingdom: Plantae
Lycopodiophyta which are generally divided into three extant orders (Lycopodiales,
Isoetales, and Selaginellales), in addition to extinct groups. There is some variation in Clade: Tracheophytes
how the extant orders are grouped into classes: they may be put into a single class; they Division: Lycopodiophyta
may be put into two classes, with the Isoetales and Selaginellales combined into one
D.H.Scott 1900 [2]
class;[8] or they may be put into three classes, one order in each.[9]:8 The system which
uses two classes for extant species is: Classes

Class Lycopodiopsida – clubmosses and firmosses Lycopodiopsida - clubmosses

Class Isoetopsida – quillworts, scale trees, and spikemosses Isoetopsida - spikemosses, quillworts,
Class † Zosterophyllopsida – extinct zosterophylls. scale trees
The extant orders each have a single family with a total of 12 genera and 1290 known † Zosterophyllopsida - zosterophylls
species (Christenhusz & Byng 2016[7]).

The following phylogram shows a likely relationship between yLcopodiophyta orders.

Lycopodiophyta
Lycopodiales
Lycopodiopsida
Drepanophycales †

Isoetopsida
Selaginellales

Lepidodendrales †

Pleuromeiales †
 Isoetales

The following is another phylogram showing the evolution of Lycopodiophytes. Note the Cooksonia-like plants and zosterophylls are a
paraphyletic grade of stem group Lycopodiophytes.[1][10][11]

†"Cooksonia" hemisphaerica Lang 1937

†Rhyniopsida

†Cooksonia Lang 1937 emend. Gonez & Gerrienne 2010 non Druce 1905(Cooksonioids s.s.)

†basal group 1

†basal group 2 (Renalioids)

†Hicklingia

†basal zosterophylls

†core zosterophylls

†Nothia

Tracheophyta † "Zosterophyllum" deciduum

Gerrienne 1988
Eutracheophytes
†Asteroxylales
Lycopodiophytina
†Drepanophycales

Lycopodiales

†Protolepidodendrales
Lycopodiopsida
Selaginellales

†Lepidodendrales

†Pleuromeiales

Isoetales

Euphyllophytes

Notes:

basal group 1

Sartilmania
Uskiella
Yunia
basal group 2 (Renalioids)

Aberlemnia
Cooksonia crassiparietilisYurina 1964
Renalia
basal zosterophylls
 Adoketophyton
Discalis
Distichophytum
Gumuia
Huia
Zosterophyllum Penhallow 1892 non Pomel 1847
core zosterophylls

Zosterophyllum llanoveranumCroft & Lang 1942

Zosterophyllum divaricatumGensel 1982
Sawdoniales Kenrick & Crane 1977 [Barinophytales Høeg 1967 ex Doweld 2001 s.l.; Gosslingiales]

Evolution
The members of this division have a long evolutionary history, and fossils are abundant worldwide, especially in coal deposits. In fact, most
known genera are extinct. The Silurian species Baragwanathia longifolia represents the earliest identifiable Lycopodiophyta, while some
[12]
Cooksonia seem to be related. Lycopodolica is another Silurian genus which appears to be an early member of this group.

Fossils ascribed to the Lycopodiophyta first appear in the Silurian period, along with a number of other vascular plants. Phylogenetic
analysis places them at the base of the vascular plants; they are distinguished by their microphylls and by transverse dehiscence of their
sporangia (as contrasted with longitudinal in other vascular plants). Sporangia of living species are borne on the upper surfaces of
microphylls (called sporophylls). In some groups, these sporophylls are clustered intostrobili.

Devonian fossil trees from Svalbard, growing in equatorial regions, raise the possibility that they drew down enough carbon dioxide
significantly to change the earth's climate.[13]

During the Carboniferous Period, tree-like Lycopodiophyta (such as Lepidodendron) formed huge forests that dominated the landscape. The
complex ecology of these tropical rainforestscollapsed during the mid Pennsylvanian due to a change in climate.[14]

Unlike modern trees, leaves grew out of the entire surface of the trunk and branches, but would fall off as the plant grew, leaving only a
small cluster of leaves at the top. Their remains formed many fossil coal deposits. In Fossil Park, Glasgow, Scotland, fossilized
Lycopodiophyta trees can be found insandstone. The trees are marked with diamond-shaped scars where they once had leaves.

The Lycopodiophyta had their maximum diversity in the Upper Carboniferous, particularly tree-like Lepidodendron and Sigillaria, that
dominated tropical wetlands. In Euramerica these became apparently extinct in the Late Pennsylvanian, as a result of a transition to a much
drier climate, to give way to conifers, ferns and horsetails. In Cathaysia (now South China) tree-like Lycopodiophytes survived into the
Permian. Nevertheless, lycopsids are rare in the Lopingian (latest Permian), but regained dominance in the Induan (earliest Triassic),
particularly Pleuromeia. After the worldwide Permian–Triassic extinction event Lycopodiophyta pioneered the repopulation of habitats as
opportunistic plants. The heterogeneity of the terrestrial plant communities increased markedly during the Middle Triassic when plant groups
.[15]
like sphenopsids, ferns, pteridosperms, cycadophytes, ginkgophytes and conifers resurfaced and diversified quickly

Characteristics
Club-mosses are homosporous, but spike-mosses and quillworts are heterosporous, with female spores larger than the male, and
gametophytes forming entirely within the spore walls.

The spores of Lycopodiophyta are highly flammable and so have been used in fireworks.[16] Huperzine A, a chemical isolated from the
Chinese firmoss Huperzia serrata, is under investigation as a possible treatment forAlzheimer's disease.[17]

Gallery
Lycopodites, an early External mold of Fossil in situ lycopsid, Base of a fossil lycopsid
lycopod-like fossil. Lepidodendron from the probably Sigillaria, with showing connection with
Upper Carboniferous of attached stigmarian stigmarian roots.
Ohio. roots.

References
1. Kenrick, Paul; Crane, Peter R. (1997).The Origin and Early Diversification of Land Plants: A Cladistic Study
. Washington,
D. C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. pp. 339–340.ISBN 1-56098-730-8.
2. James L. Reveal, Indices Nominum Supragenericorum Plantarum V
ascularium (http://www.plantsystematics.org/reveal/pbi
o/fam/allspgfileL.html)
3. Rickards, R.B. (2000). "The age of the earliest club mosses: the Silurian Baragwanathia flora inictoria,
V Australia".
Geological Magazine. 137 (2): 207–209. doi:10.1017/s0016756800003800(https://doi.org/10.1017%2Fs001675680000380
0).
4. McElwain, Jenny C.; Willis, K. G.; Willis, Kathy; McElwain, J. C. (2002).
The evolution of plants. Oxford [Oxfordshire]:
Oxford University Press.ISBN 0-19-850065-3.
5. Eichhorn, Evert, and Raven (2005).Biology of Plants, Seventh Edition. 381-388.
6. Callow, R. S.; Cook, Laurence Martin (1999).Genetic and evolutionary diversity: the sport of nature
. Cheltenham: S.
Thornes. p. 8. ISBN 0-7487-4336-7.
7. Christenhusz, M. J. M. & Byng, J. W. (2016). "The number of known plants species in the world and its annual increase"
(htt
p://biotaxa.org/Phytotaxa/article/download/phytotaxa.261.3.1/20598)
. Phytotaxa. Magnolia Press. 261 (3): 201–217.
doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.261.3.1(https://doi.org/10.11646%2Fphytotaxa.261.3.1) .
8. Yatsentyuk, S.P.; Valiejo-Roman, K.M.; Samigullin, T.H.; Wilkström, N.; Troitsky, A.V. (2001). "Evolution of Lycopodiaceae
Inferred from Spacer Sequencing of Chloroplast rRNA Genes".Russian Journal of Genetics. 37 (9): 1068–73.
doi:10.1023/A:1011969716528(https://doi.org/10.1023%2FA%3A1011969716528).
9. "www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?mode=Undef&id=3243)
. Retrieved
2009-03-19.
10. Crane, P.R.; Herendeen, P.; Friis, E.M. (2004), "Fossils and plant phylogeny"(http://www.amjbot.org/cgi/content/full/91/10/1
683), American Journal of Botany, 91 (10): 1683–99, doi:10.3732/ajb.91.10.1683(https://doi.org/10.3732%2Fajb.91.10.168
3), PMID 21652317 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21652317), retrieved 2011-01-27
11. Gonez, P. & Gerrienne, P. (2010a), "A New Definition and a Lectotypification of the GenusCooksonia Lang 1937",
International Journal of Plant Sciences, 171 (2): 199–215, doi:10.1086/648988 (https://doi.org/10.1086%2F648988)
12. Raymond, A.; Gensel, P. & Stein, W.E. (2006). "Phytogeography of Late Silurian macrofloras".Review of Palaeobotany and
Palynology. 142 (3–4): 165–192. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2006.02.005(https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.revpalbo.2006.02.005).
13. https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/news/view/163982-tropical-fossil-forests-unearthed-in-arctic-norway
14. Sahney, S., Benton, M.J. & Falcon-Lang, H.J. (2010). "Rainforest collapse triggered Pennsylvanian tetrapod diversification
in Euramerica" (http://geology.geoscienceworld.org/cgi/content/abstract/38/12/1079)(PDF). Geology. 38 (12): 1079–1082.
doi:10.1130/G31182.1 (https://doi.org/10.1130%2FG31182.1).
15. Moisan, Philippe; Voigt, Sebastian (2013)."Lycopsids from the Madygen Lagerstätte (Middle to Late Triassic, Kyrgyzstan,
Central Asia)" (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235759091_Lycopsids_from_the_Madygen_Lagersttte_(Middle_to
_Late_Triassic_Kyrgyzstan_Central_Asia)). Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 192: 42–64.
doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2012.12.003(https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.revpalbo.2012.12.003) . Retrieved 2015-03-20.
16. Cobb, B (1956) A Field Guide to Ferns and their related families: Northeastern and Central North America with a section on
species also found in the British Isles and W
estern Europe (Peterson Field Guides), 215
17. Zangara, A (2003). "The psychopharmacology of huperzine A: an alkaloid with cognitive enhancing and neuroprotective
properties of interest in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease"(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S009130570
3001114). Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior. 75 (3): 675–686. doi:10.1016/S0091-3057(03)00111-4(https://doi.or
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External links
Introduction to the Lycophyta from the University of California Museum of Paleontology
Lycophytes
Fossil Groves
Paleo Plants

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