Lycopodium

“ We know, in fact, that while one plant of Lycopodium Selago, than which scarcely any other now living has had greater opportunity to become fixed in its characters, is much like another, no two of them are actually identical. ”

“ The vegetable remains are very numerous, and in a state of beautiful preservation. Nowhere, indeed, in the best arranged herbarium, have we anything so graceful, so minutely and skillfully delineated, as are the figures of these plants upon the stone. There are several species of lycopodium; also stigmaria, sigillaria, equisetum, calamus, and cyclopteris, in great abundance. The fronds of the fossil sphenopteris furnish exquisite tracings of nature’s penciling. Nor are the relics belonging to the animal kingdom less remarkable for their freshness and variety. ”

“ Lycopodiaceæ, lī-ko-pō-di-ā′se-ē, n.pl. a class of isoporous vascular cryptogams, having mostly a dichotomous form of branching—its typical genus Lycopō′dium.—n. Ly′copode, a highly inflammable yellow powder made up of the spores of Lycopodium. [Gr. lykos, a wolf, pous, the foot.]
Lyddite, lid′īt, n. a powerful explosive made (at Lydd in Kent) from picrate of potash.
Lydian, lid′i-an, adj. pertaining to Lydia in Asia Minor: of an ancient Greek mode of music: (mus.) soft and slow: luxurious and effeminate. ”

“ Lycopodium. It would be out of place in a volume devoted mainly to fossil plants to attempt a comprehensive account of the general morphology of recent species, and indeed our knowledge of the anatomical characters of the genus is still somewhat meagre. For purposes of comparison with extinct types, it is essential that some of the more important morphological features of existing species should be briefly considered. The additions made to our knowledge of the gameophyte [92] of European and tropical species during the last two decades have revealed a striking diversity in habit. ”

“ In several species, grouped round the widely distributed type Lycopodium Selago Linn., the comparatively short, erect or suberect, shoots form fairly compact tufts; the ordinary foliage-leaves function as sporophylls, and the sporangia are not localised on special portions of shoots. From this type, we pass to others in which the fertile leaves tend to be confined to the tips of branches, but hardly differ in form from the sterile. ”

“ The oil is a bland liquid, which does not solidify even at -15° C.
By subjecting lycopodium or its extract to distillation with or without an alkali, Stenhouse obtained volatile bases, the presence of which we can fully confirm; but they occur in exceedingly small proportion. The ash of lycopodium amounts to 4 per cent.; it is not alkaline; it contains alumina, and one per cent. of phosphoric acid, constituents likewise found in the green parts of the plant. ”

“ Lycopodium lucidulum. 6 to 12 in.; leaves minutely toothed, growing from underground creeping stems.
L. selago. 3 to 6 in.; similar to No. 1; leaves not toothed.
L. undatum. 1 to 4in.; similar to No. 1, but creeping on the surface of ground. ”

“ In its lowest fossiliferous beds we detect a Lycopodite which not a little resembles one of the commonest of our club mosses,—Lycopodium clavatum,—with a minute fern and a large striated plant resembling a calamite, and evidently allied to an existing genus of Acrogens, the equisetaceæ. In the Middle Old Red Sandstone there also occurs a small fern, with [Pg 42] some trace of a larger; and one of its best preserved vegetable organisms is a lepidodendron,—an extinct ally of the Lycopodiums ”

“ Lepidodendra, twigs of Bothrodendron [169] species of conifers, fern rhizomes, and Aphlebiae [170] have masqueraded as herbaceous lycopods. It is obvious that an attempt to identify fossils presenting a general agreement in habit and leaf-form with recent species of lycopods must be attended with considerable risk of error. Recent Conifers include several species the smaller branches of which simulate the leafy shoots of certain species of Lycopodium and Selaginella, and it is not surprising to find that this similarity has been responsible for many false determinations. ”

“ Lycopodium rufescens Hook. An Andian species with stout dichotomously branched erect stems bears on the younger shoots crowded leaves with their thick and broadly triangular laminae pointing upwards, but on the older and thick shoots the laminae are strongly reflexed (fig. 121, A) . The lower part of the specimen represented in fig. 121, A, shows tangentially elongated scars and persistent leaf-bases or cushions left on the stem after the removal of the free portions of the leathery leaves, a surface-feature which also characterises the Palaeozoic genus Lepidodendron. ”

“ The cones, which in some instances at least were heterosporous, presented a general resemblance to those of Lycopodium and Selaginella, a single sporangium being situated on the upper surface of each sporophyll. The cavities of the large sporangia were sometimes traversed by trabeculae of sterile tissue resembling those found in Isoëtes. In some of the heterosporous forms (Lepidocarpon, Miadesmia) the sporangia were sometimes surrounded by an integument; and since only a single megaspore attained maturity, the structure of the megasporangium suggests a comparison with an ovule. ”

“ A description by Mr Rodway [237] of Lycopods on the border of a savannah in Guiana forming a miniature forest of Pine-like Lycopodiums might, with the omission of the qualifying adjective, be applied with equal force to a grove of Lepidodendra. The equal dichotomy of many of the branches gave to the tree a habit in striking contrast to that of our modern forest trees, but, on the other hand, in close agreement with that of such recent species of Lycopodium as L. cernuum (fig. 123) , L. obscurum (fig. 124) and other types. ”

“ The form of the leaf-scars varies according to the age of the branch and their disposition is far from constant even on the same specimen; in some cases the scars are in fairly regular whorls (fig. 212, G; an Irish specimen) while in others they are in regular spirals. This irregularity of arrangement, which is well illustrated by Nathorst’s figures of Bear Island and Irish specimens, finds its counterpart, though in a less marked form, in recent species of Lycopodium, e.g. L. Selago. ”

“ As in Lycopodium the metaxylem tracheae are as a rule scalariform, but reticulate xylem elements are by no means unknown. The tracheal band, 53surrounded by parenchymatous elements, is enclosed by phloem with external protophloem elements. The characteristic features of the stele are shown in the diagrammatic drawing of a section of another species—S. Willdenowii—represented in fig. 131, A.
Fig. ”

“ CLUB MOSS. Though not generally thought worth more than a passing notice, or to possess any claims of a medicinal sort, yet the Club Moss, which is of common growth in Great Britain on heaths and hilly pastures, exerts by its spores very remarkable curative effects, and [114] therefore it should be favourably regarded as a Herbal Simple. It is exclusively due to homoeopathic provings and practice, that the Lycopodium clavatum (Club Moss) takes an important position amongst the most curative vegetable remedies of the present day. ”

“ As far as number is concerned, the living Club Mosses represent a comparatively insignificant group when compared with the Ferns. In all the world there are probably not more than five or six hundred species. These are very widely distributed, and there is hardly any part which cannot offer at least a few species. We have five species of Lycopodium in the United Kingdom. All are rather local, though often enough they occur in great abundance in special localities. ”

“ The living club-mosses, of which there are about 200 species, are most abundant in tropical climates. They usually creep on the ground, but some stand erect, as the Lycopodium densum from New Zealand (see Fig. 456) , which attains a height of three feet.
In the Carboniferous strata of Coalbrook Dale, and in many other coal-fields, elongated cylindrical bodies, called fossil cones, named Lepidostrobus by M. Adolphe Brongniart, are met with. (See Fig. 457.) ”

“ Fat-droplets are most frequently derived from unclean bottles or oiled catheters. Starch-granules may reach the urine from towels, the [p. 132] clothing, or dusting-powders. They are recognized by their concentric striations and their blue color with iodin solution. Lycopodium granules (Fig. 59) may also reach the urine from dusting-powders. They might be mistaken for the ova of parasites. Bubbles of air are often confusing to beginners, but are easily recognized after once being seen. Scratches and flaws in the glass of slide or cover are likewise a common source of confusion to beginners. ”

“ Sometimes the sporangia are borne on fertile leaves which exactly resemble the ordinary ones; a good instance of this is seen in the case of the Fir Club Moss (Lycopodium selago) . On the other hand, the fertile leaves may be gathered together into cones such as are to be observed in the case of the Common Club Moss (L. clavatum) . The sporangium is quite a large affair, easily discerned with the naked eye. The number of spores produced is enormous—so much so that these can be shaken out in a thick powder. ”

“ The Lepidodendra are generally supposed to be Lycopodia, or plants allied to them, and there is nothing in the structure of the present species that might tend to invalidate the opinion A transverse section of Lycopodium clavatum is represented by Fig. ”

“ The thicker walled outer cortex is continued at the periphery into crowded, usually spirally disposed sporophylls, each of which consists of a more or less horizontal pedicel, which may be characterised by a keel-like median ridge on its lower surface, while to the central region of the upper face is attached a large radially elongated sporangium. One of the chief differences between a Lepidodendron cone 183and those of the recent genus Lycopodium is the greater radial elongation of the sporangia in the former. Some species of Lepidostrobus may have been homosporous ”

“ At this level the cranberry in its southern temperate form (Empetrum nigrum var. rubrum) grows abundantly. At this season of the year (June 1st) it was loaded with bright red fruit. Lycopodium was found by the naturalist at the highest level attained by him, but in a dwarfed condition. Agrostis ramulosa and A. media seemed to thrive at higher levels. Cotula Goughensis, a new species described by Dr. Rudmose Brown of the Scotia, which grows to a height of 30 cm. near the beach, is dwarfed to 5 or 6 cm. on the higher slopes. ”

“ The Ellis collection of fungi. Jour. N. Y. Bot. Garden 1 : 38-40. Mr 1900. 134. (With Francis Ernest Lloyd.) A review of the species of Lycopodium of North America. Bull. Torrey Club 27 : 147-168. 21 Ap 1900. Also as a separate : Contr. Dep. Bot. Columbia Univ. no. 169.
135. [Botany of ferns.] In: Bailey, Liberty Hyde, & Miller, Wilhelm. Cyclopedia of American horticulture, vol. 2. ”

“ For more chronic forms, Ledum 3x every 4 hours.
Gravel. When accompanied by flatulence and constipation, Lycopodium 6 3 times a day. When accompanied by pain in the back, reddish urine, Thlaspi 1x 2 drops 3 or 4 times a day. If these fail, Sarsaparilla 6 3 times a day.
Headache.—There are many kinds of headache, excited by various causes and presenting various symptoms, but the most common are headache proceeding from indigestion, nervous headache and sick headache. For the first of these the remedy is Nux vomica or Pulsatilla ”

“ One to be taken three times a day after meals.
The “pills” were in reality flexible capsules, each containing about 51⁄2 grains of a soft mass in which oils of juniper and peppermint could be recognized in small quantity; examination also showed the presence of potassium nitrate, of small quantities of iron and magnesium compounds, and of lycopodium, [1] together with powdered squill, wheat starch, and a “green” extract, containing a trace of alkaloid, which appeared from its characters to be a mixture of extracts of henbane and taraxacum. ”

“ I send you a few Notes on Queries scattered through some of the later numbers of your very valuable publication:
Anonymous Ravennas.—In the library of the Royal Geographical Society, I believe there is a copy of an 8vo. edition of that cosmography.
Selago.—This plant, I should think it probable, is the Lycopodium clavatum of modern botanists; the seeds of which, when ripe, and when the plant is struck, rise like smoke ("fumum" of Pliny) , and may have been supposed, from their remarkable inflammability when dashed into a flame, igniting with a sudden flash, to have possessed wonderful virtues. ”

“ Congesta, D. C.* ǁ§Forsteri, D. C. *pilosa, Willd.§70 *sylvatica, Bich.§71 Lychnis, L. **Flos-Cuculi, L.** **sylvestris, Hoppe.* *vespertina, Sibth.** Lycopodium, L. †clavatum, L.†¶T *inundatum, L.* †Selago, L.† Lycopsis, L. *arvensis, L.* Lycopus, L. *europæus, L.* Lysimachia, L. †nemorum, L.† †nummularia, L.† *vulgaris, L.* Lythrum, L. *salacaria, L.* Malva, L. *mosehata, L.* *rotundifolia, L.* ǁ†β. pusilla, Sm. ”

“ The Gametophyte of Botrychium virginianum. Trans. Canad. Inst. vol. V. p. 265.
—— (00) The morphology of the central cylinder in the Angiosperms. Ibid. vol. VI. p. 599.
—— (03) The structure and development of the stem in the Pteridophyta and Gymnosperms. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. vol. CXCV. p. 119.
—— (09) See Hollick, A. and E. C. Jeffrey.
Jennings, A. Vaughan and Kate M. Hall. (91) Notes on the structure of Tmesipteris. Proc. R. Irish Acad. [3] vol. II. p. 1.
Jones, C. E. (05) The morphology and anatomy of the stem of the genus Lycopodium. Trans. Linn. Soc. vol. VII. p. 15. ”