Lycopod facts for kids
Quick facts for kids LycopodTemporal range: Silurian to Recent
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Lycopodiella inundata | |
Scientific classification | |
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Lycopodiophyta
Cronquist, Takht. & W.Zimm.
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The Lycopods (Lycopodiophyta or Lycophyta) are the oldest surviving vascular plant division. It is a vascular plant subdivision of the plant kingdom. Its earliest fossils are from 428–410 million years ago.p99
The Lycopods include some of the most primitive (basal) living species. They reproduce by shedding spores and have macroscopic alternation of generations. Members of Lycopodiophyta have a protostele, and the sporophyte generation is dominant.
Lycopods differ from all other vascular plants in having microphylls, leaves that have only a single vein rather than the much more complex megaphylls found in ferns and seed plants.
Classification
There are around 1,200 living species of Lycopodiophyta; they are generally divided into three orders. There are also some extinct groups. There are different opinions as to how the whole group should be classified.p8 Living groups are:
- Lycopodiales: Clubmosses
- Isoetales: Quillworts
- Selaginellales: Spikemosses
Images for kids
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External impression of Lepidodendron from the Upper Carboniferous of Ohio
See also
In Spanish: Lycopsida para niños