Spikemosses (Selaginella)

This group gathers Ferns and Fern Allies subcategory members belonging to the genus Selaginella, the spikemosses, a large and diverse genus of lycophytes closely related to the clubmosses gathered separately above but distinguished by producing two different sizes of spore, a trait called heterospory that the true clubmosses lack. Spikemosses range from tiny, moss-like ground-cover plants to larger, more elaborately branched forms, and several species, most famously the so-called resurrection plant, can survive extreme desiccation by curling into a tight, dormant ball that appears completely dead, then rapidly unfurling and resuming normal growth within hours of receiving water again, an adaptation to surviving in habitats where water is only intermittently available. Like the clubmosses, spikemosses reproduce through spores rather than seeds and carry the same distinctive single-veined microphyll leaf type found throughout the lycophytes.