What are club and spike mosses?

What are club and spike mosses?

We tend to think of moss as small, airy, green plants that decorate rocks, trees, ground spaces, and even our houses. Spike moss plants, or club moss, are not true mosses but very basic vascular plants. They are related to the family of ferns and closely aligned with fern ecosystems.

Do spike mosses have true roots?

Spike mosses mainly have a tropical distribution, growing in moist shaded habitats, aithough a few are found in deserts. They are terrestrial, perennial or annual plants, without true roots. These plants are heterosporous, that is it reproduces through two type of spore.

How does Spike moss reproduce?

The spike mosses reproduce with spores. They have distinct male and female spores known as microspores and megaspores, respectively. Spore are produced on leaves in enclosures called sporangia. The spores of Selaginella species are both pollinated and dispersed by wind.

Is Spike moss heterosporous?

In the living Lycopodiophyta species: spike mosses (Selaginellaceae) and quillworts (Isoetaceae) are heterosporous, while club mosses (Lycopodiaceae) are homosporous.

What plant is Spike Moss?

Selaginella
spike moss, (family Selaginellaceae), family of more than 700 species of mossy or fernlike seedless vascular plants of the order Selaginellales. The family consists of a single genus, Selaginella. They are widely distributed in all parts of the world, particularly in the tropics.

Is Spike Moss a fern?

Selaginella, commonly referred to as spike moss or arborvitae fern, has been around for more than 400 million years. These plants look more like a moss than a fern, but are technically considered a fern ally. Ferns and fern allies reproduce by spores rather than seed like most plants.

What is the ecological importance of mosses?

Ecologically, mosses break down exposed substrata, releasing nutrients for the use of more complex plants that succeed them. They also aid in soil erosion control by providing surface cover and absorbing water, and they are important in the nutrient and water economy of some vegetation types.

Is Spike Moss a Sporophyte?

The sporophytes of species of Selaginella are commonly known as spike mosses, they produce two different kinds of spores and gametophytes (heterospory).

What are Spike plants?

Spike, as it is usually called, (Dracaena indivisa ‘spikes’) is a dramatic plant that has leaves shaped like swords. The leaves are sharp and require gloves when they are being handled. Spike is an evergreen plant that is used for its foliage, not its flower. This plant is very low maintenance. Spike is heat tolerant.

What is the morphology of Selaginella?

Selaginella species are creeping or ascendant plants with simple, scale-like leaves (microphylls) on branching stems from which roots also arise. The stems are aerial, horizontally creeping on the substratum (as in Selaginella kraussiana), sub-erect (Selaginella trachyphylla) or erect (as in Selaginella erythropus).

Why is Selaginella called Spike Moss?

The sporophytes of species of Selaginella are commonly known as spike mosses, they produce two different kinds of spores and gametophytes (heterospory). This is an advanced feature, which differentiates the family from Lycopodiaceae, but is also present in seed plants.

What are spike mosses?

21.  The spike mosses are the most diverse group of lycophytes. • They often resemble club mosses although they have two distinct types of spores and a small scale- like growth at the base of the leaves. • They include just a single genus, Selaginella, which has a total of around 700 species.

What are the characteristics of spore mosses?

(See also lycophyte and lower vascular plant .) Spike mosses bear scalelike leaves, either spirally arranged or in ranks of four, on trailing, climbing, or erect stems and branches. The spore -bearing leaves are similar to ordinary leaves but are clustered in spikes, or strobili.

What is the difference between spike mosses and Selaginella?

Spike mosses are spore producing plants and are most closely related to quillworts. Selaginella is the single remaining genus from the order of plants known as Selaginellales. One species, Selaginella lepidophylla, has a remarkable ability to tolerate drought and has earned the name ‘resurrection plant’.

What are club mosses called?

15.  Club Mosses, also called ground pine, common name for plants in the family Lycopodiaceae.  The sporophytes consist of true roots, aerial stem and scale-like leaves which are microphylls  The club shape appearance of these fertile stems gives the club mosses their common name. Order Lycopodium (Club Mosses)