SELAGINELLA.
(Selaginellaceae)

This plant family - of which there is but one species listed as native to Mount Rainier National Park - bears a superficial resemblance to the Club Mosses (see above) and the two groups are often confused by the average person. In this area, however, the Club Mosses are much more abundant than is Selaginella - the latter being only occasionally noted.

Like the Club Moss, Selaginella is a perennial evergreen with prostrate stems that are covered with numerous, small moss-like leaves. The sporangia are borne in the axils of the leaves, these spore-bearing leaves being closely crowded and overlapping upon the terminal portion of the stem to form characteristic spikes or cone-like structures. Unlike the Club Mosses, Selaginella bears two kinds of spores and is thus quite distinct from the group with which it is often confused. (See field key, page 11).

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THE QUILLWORTS.
(Isoetes spp.)

One must seek these plants about small lakes or ponds or in the boggy soils of marshes. Both of the two species listed are native to Mount Rainier National Park (see check list on page 9) prefer a habitat of shallow water bordering small ponds or the very moist soils that border such locations.

These are small plants with tufted, grass-like or quill-like angled leaves arising from a short, fleshy onion-like stem. The leaves overlap at their base near their junction with the stem. The spores, of which there are two kinds, are borne in sporangia that are somewhat sunken upon the underside of the leaf base.

Specific distinction between the two local species may be made by use of the field key on page 11.

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