Editing Lycopodiopsida (section)

{{Short description|Class of vascular plants}}
{{About|a group of plants that excludes the extinct zosterophylls|the more broadly defined group that includes the zosterophylls|Lycophyte}}
{{Redirect|Lycopod}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| oldest_fossil = Devonian
| image = Lycopodium_plant.jpg
| image_caption = ''[[Palhinhaea cernua]]'' with close-up of branch
| taxon = Lycopodiopsida
| authority = [[Friedrich Gottlieb Bartling|Bartl.]]
| synonyms = See [[#Table 1|Table 1]].
| subdivision_ranks = Orders
| subdivision = *[[Isoetales]] (quillworts)
*[[Lycopodiales]] (clubmosses, firmosses)
*[[Selaginellales]] (spikemosses)
*{{extinct}}[[Lepidodendrales]] (arborecent lycophytes/scale trees)
}}

'''Lycopodiopsida''' is a class of [[vascular plant]]s also known as '''lycopsids''',<ref>{{cite web |title=Lab V - Lycophytes (1) |url=https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/IB181/VPL/Lyco/Lyco1.html |website=[[University of California Museum of Paleontology]]}}</ref> '''lycopods''', or '''lycophytes'''. Members of the class are also called '''clubmosses''', '''firmosses''', '''spikemosses''' and '''quillworts'''. They have dichotomously branching stems bearing simple leaves called [[Microphylls and megaphylls|microphylls]] and reproduce by means of [[spore]]s borne in [[sporangium|sporangia]] on the sides of the stems at the bases of the leaves. Although living species are small, during the [[Carboniferous]], extinct tree-like forms ([[Lepidodendrales]]) formed huge forests that dominated the landscape and contributed to [[coal]] deposits.

The nomenclature and classification of plants with microphylls varies substantially among authors. A consensus classification for extant (living) species was produced in 2016 by the [[Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group]] (PPG&nbsp;I), which places them all in the class Lycopodiopsida, which includes the classes '''Isoetopsida''' and '''Selaginellopsida''' used in other systems. (See [[#Table 2|Table 2]].) Alternative classification systems have used ranks from division (phylum) to subclass. In the PPG&nbsp;I system, the class is divided into three orders, [[Lycopodiales]], [[Isoetales]] and [[Selaginellales]].