Huperzia australiana is a species of small terrestrial plant, a firmoss, in the Lycopodiaceae (clubmoss) family. It is native to Australia and New Zealand.
Huperzia australiana | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Lycophytes |
Class: | Lycopodiopsida |
Order: | Lycopodiales |
Family: | Lycopodiaceae |
Genus: | Huperzia |
Species: | H. australiana
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Binomial name | |
Huperzia australiana (Herter) Holub
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Synonyms | |
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Distribution and habitat
editThe plant occurs at sheltered sites in subalpine and subantarctic regions, in grasslands and around bogs, up to 2000 m above sea level.[1]
Description
editHuperzia australiana has decumbent stems with densely tufted, erect branches up to 300 mm long, usually branched 2 or 3 times. The leaves are crowded, appressed to spreading, 5–9 mm long, 0.5–1.5 mm wide in the middle and tapering to a point. It reproduces vegetatively through the often numerous small bulbils which form along the stem. The sporophylls are similar to the foliage leaves; no strobili are formed; the bright yellow, kidney-shaped sporangia are produced in the upper leaf axils.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b Wilson, Peter G.; Chinnock, R.J. (2000). "Huperzia australiana (Herter) Holub". PlantNET. National Herbarium of NSW: Sydney. Retrieved 2013-02-24.