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Home/Species/ Willdenow's Spikemoss

Selaginella willdenowii

(Desv. ex Poir.) Baker

Willdenow's Spikemoss

GNRUnranked Found in 2 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
GNRUnrankedGlobal Rank
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.146502
Element CodePPSEL011F0
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomPlantae
PhylumLycophyta
ClassIsoetopsida
OrderSelaginellales
FamilySelaginellaceae
GenusSelaginella
Synonyms
Didiclis willdenowii(Desv.) Li Bing Zhang & X.M. Zhou
Concept Reference
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Taxonomic Comments
FNA (1993, vol. 2) and the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group I (2016) recognize the family Selaginellaceae with a single genus, Selaginella. Attempts to recognize subgenera (e.g., six in Zhou and Zhang 2015, seven in Weststrand and Korall 2016) lack consistency, and the elevation of subgenera to nineteen genera in Zhou and Zhang (2023) has mixed acceptance. While Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team (2025) treat their fifteen taxa in four genera, Valdespino et al. (2024) provide justification to conserve Selaginellaceae in a single genus with approximately 750 taxa, which the World Flora Online (2025) accepts, following the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group.
Conservation Status
Review Date2002-09-11
Change Date2002-09-11
Edition Date1991-03-08
Edition AuthorsBroaddus, Lynn
Range Extent Comments
Native of Tropical Asia and Indonesia. Naturalized in numerous places in the American tropics.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Moist roadside thickets and rocky banks (Proctor, 1985).
Other Nations (1)
United StatesNNA
ProvinceRankNative
FloridaSNANo
Plant Characteristics
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (2)
Puerto Rico (2)
AreaForestAcres
El Toro AreaCaribbean National Forest12,584
Mameyes AreaCaribbean National Forest11,150
References (9)
  1. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 1993a. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 2. Pteridophytes and gymnosperms. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xvi + 475 pp.
  2. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  3. Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group I. 2016. A Community-Derived Classification for Extant Lycophytes and Ferns. Journal of Systematics and Evolution 54(6): 563–603.
  4. Valdespino, I.A., Korall, P., Weststrand, S., López, C.A., Tang, J.Y., Shalimov, A., and X.C. Zhang. 2024. Rebuttal to “(2943) Proposal to conserve <i>Selaginella</i>, nom. cons.,(Selaginellaceae) with a conserved type”: An unwarranted and disruptive idea. Taxon 73(2): 573-585.
  5. Weakley, A.S., and Southeastern Flora Team. 2025. Flora of the southeastern United States Web App. Edition of February 18, 2025. University of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU), North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Online. Available: https://fsus.ncbg.unc.edu (accessed 2025).
  6. Weststrand, S., and P. Korall. 2016. A subgeneric classification of <i>Selaginella</i> (Selaginellaceae). American Journal of Botany 103(12): 2160-2169.
  7. World Flora Online (WFO). 2025. Selaginellaceae Willk. Online. Available: <a href="http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-7000000562">http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-7000000562</a>. Accessed on 24 April 2025.
  8. Zhou, X.M., and L.B. Zhang. 2015. A classification of <i>Selaginella</i> (Selaginellaceae) based on molecular (chloroplast and nuclear), macromorphological, and spore features. Taxon 64(6): 1117-1140.
  9. Zhou, X.M. and L.B. Zhang. 2023. Phylogeny, character evolution, and classification of Selaginellaceae (lycophytes). Plant Diversity 45(6): 630-684.