Selaginella hansenii
Selaginella tortipila
Hansen's spike-moss
kinky-hair spike-moss, twistedhair spikemoss
not readily fragmenting, prostrate, upperside and underside structurally different, irregularly forked, branches determinate, tips upturned.
radially symmetric, underground (rhizomatous) and aerial, not readily fragmenting, irregularly forked; rhizomatous and aerial stems often with 1 branch arrested, budlike, tips straight;
aerial stems erect or ascending to decumbent, budlike branches throughout.
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).
dimorphic, in alternate pseudowhorls of 5.
solitary, 5–7 mm;
sporophylls ovate-deltate to ovate-triangular, abaxial ridges not prominent, base glabrous, margins short-ciliate, apex bristled.
solitary, 4–6 mm;
sporophylls ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, abaxial ridges obvious, base glabrous, margins denticulate, apex keeled, long-bristled, bristle twisted.
borne on upperside of stems, throughout stem length, 0.25–0.45 mm diam.
borne on upperside of stems, restricted to rhizomatous stems or to lowermost base of aerial stems, 0.2–0.3 mm diam.
stem leaves strongly appressed, overlapping, scalelike.
stem leaves tightly appressed, ascending, green, narrowly lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, (2.5–)3–4.5 × 0.4–0.7 mm;
abaxial ridges inconspicuous or more visible from apex to middle of leaf;
base cuneate, decurrent, glabrous;
margins short-ciliate to denticulate or entire, cilia transparent, spreading, 0.02–0.06(–0.08) mm;
apex keeled (more so in dry leaves);
bristle transparent or yellowish to brownish near base, puberulent, twisted, persistent or falling off early, 1.2–1.7 mm (1/3–1/2 length of leaves).
Selaginella hansenii
Selaginella tortipila
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 tortipila, a very distinct species, is probably without close relatives in the flora but may be distantly related to S. rupestris. The two irregularly forked branches are particularly unusual: the larger one forms the strobilus while the smaller becomes arrested and forms either a budlike branch or grows and divides again to form a vegetative shoot.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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