Selaginella moellendorffii is a lycophyte that is an important model organism, especially in comparative genomics. S. moellendorffii is a member of an ancient vascular plant lineage that first appeared in the fossil record some 400 million years ago. They would later form a dominant part of the world's flora during the Carboniferous period. They have a number of unusual and/or "primitive" features, such as rudimentary leaves (microphylls), ubiquitous dichotomous branching, heterospory, and the ligule. As the earliest diverging group of modern vascular plants, they are essential to understanding the evolution of plants as a whole.
From Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Is it poisonous?
We have no record of Gemmiferous Spikemoss being toxic, poisonous or venomous. That is not proof that it is safe. Never eat, touch or handle a wild plant, mushroom or animal on the strength of an identification; ask someone qualified.
Easily confused with
- Selaginella involvens
- Selaginella conduplicata
- Selaginella arbuscula
- Selaginella delicatula
- Selaginella repanda
- Selaginella flabellata
Classification
- Kingdom
- Plantae
- Phylum
- Tracheophyta
- Class
- Lycopodiopsida
- Order
- Selaginellales
- Family
- Selaginellaceae
- Genus
- Selaginella
- Species
- Selaginella moellendorffii
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