Lycopodiales

Lycopodiales is an order of vascular plants in the division Lycopodiophyta, comprising the living club mosses and their close relatives. In modern classifications, the order includes two extant families, Lycopodiaceae (club mosses) and Huperziaceae (adder’s-tongue family), though some systems place Huperziaceae within Lycopodiaceae.

Members of Lycopodiales are generally terrestrial, with creeping rhizomes and upright or sprawling stems. The leaves are microphylls, small and with a single midvein, often arranged spirally or in two ranks. The shoots may show dichotomous branching, a characteristic feature of many early vascular plants. Reproduction occurs via spores produced in sporangia, typically borne on specialized leaves called sporophylls that form strobili (cones) in some genera.

The life cycle follows alternation of generations, with a dominant sporophyte and a smaller, usually photosynthetic gametophyte. In many Lycopodiales, sporophytes persist as long-lived, evergreen plants, forming ground-hugging to upright vegetation in a variety of habitats. These plants are found in tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions, commonly on shaded forest floors, rocky outcrops, or moist soils, and they often require stable moisture for spore germination and growth.

Fossil evidence shows that Lycopodiales have a long history dating back to the Silurian, and they were prominent components of Paleozoic forests, contributing to coal-forming floras. Today, they are of interest horticulturally as ornamental groundcovers and shaded garden plants, and they serve as a window into early vascular plant evolution.