Selaginella hansenii
Selaginella eclipes
Hansen's spike-moss
buck's meadow spike-moss, hidden spike-moss
not readily fragmenting, prostrate, upperside and underside structurally different, irregularly forked, branches determinate, tips upturned.
short-creeping, branched, branches 1–2-forked, flat, not articulate, glabrous.
with underside leaves slightly longer and narrower than upperside leaves, otherwise monomorphic, not clearly ranked, tightly appressed, ascending, green or green with red spots, or reddish, linear-lanceolate (underside) to linear-triangular (upperside), (2–)3–4.5 × 0.5–0.6 mm;
abaxial ridges present;
base abruptly adnate, pubescent (sometimes glabrous);
margins ciliate, cilia white to white opaque, strongly appressed and ascending, 0.03–0.1 mm;
apex with bristle white to white-opaque, 0.5–1.4 mm (those on underside leaves sometimes 1/4–1/2 longer than those on upperside leaves).
papery, delicate.
solitary, 5–7 mm;
sporophylls ovate-deltate to ovate-triangular, abaxial ridges not prominent, base glabrous, margins short-ciliate, apex bristled.
solitary or paired, lax, flattened, 1–4 cm;
sporophylls ovate to ovate-deltate, strongly keeled, keel dentate, base glabrous, slightly cordate to rounded, margins serrate, apex acuminate;
megasporophylls larger and wider than microsporophylls, usually on underside of strobili.
borne on upperside of stems, throughout stem length, 0.25–0.45 mm diam.
throughout stem length, 0.06–0.1 mm diam.
leaves nearly perpendicular to stem, green, ovate to ovate-elliptic, 1–2 × 0.5–1.3 mm;
base rounded to slightly subcordate;
margins slightly transparent, serrate;
apex acute.
leaves ovate to ovate-lanceolate or lanceolate, 1–1.8 × 0.4–0.8 mm;
base rounded to oblique;
margins green, serrate;
apex abruptly tapered, long-acuminate to bristled, frequently transparent, midrib extending into apex.
Selaginella hansenii
Selaginella eclipes
Leaf dimorphism in Selaginella hansenii is only slightly and inconsistently expressed; the upperside leaves tend to be more lanceolate, short, and slightly thick, whereas the underside leaves tend to be more linear, longer, and thinner, but in some specimens the leaves are monomorphic. Red leaves are rare within Selaginella subg. Tetragonostachys, otherwise found in the flora only occasionally in S. rupestris. Such leaves are more common in S. steyermarkii Alston from southern Mexico and Guatemala and S. sartorii Hieronymus from Mexico.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Selaginella eclipes, a member of the S. apoda complex, may prove to be better treated as a subspecies of S. apoda (W. R. Buck 1977). It is recognized here at the specific level to highlight the problems within this species complex. Further research is needed to elucidate the relationships among the species of the complex.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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