Lycopodiaceae

Spore-producing plants that resemble coarse mosses or miniature evergreen trees, and are usually over 5 cm, upright or trailing; fern allies.

Stems are simple or branched, unjointed, and covered in scattered, but numerous leaves. Leaves are simple, scalelike, single-veined and less than 2 cm long.

Spores are numerous, yellow, all the same size, and released from spore-producing structures that are found where the leaves join the stem (axils) or as cones (strobili) at the top of the plant. All spores contain oil that serves as stored food for germination; some contain so much oil that they can be ignited and were an ingredient in flash powder in the early days of photography.