Isoetaceae
English: Quillworts.
Clades: Isoetales; Isoetidae; Isoetopsida; Pteridophyta; Plants.
Genus: 1; ± 145 species, 1 family Isoetaceae.
Region: cosmopolitan; scarce to rare.
Botany
Identification: very difficult to distinguish by general appearance, better by the velum, the transparent cover of sporangia or the the megaspores under a microscope.
Primitive fern; heterosporous; mostly aquatic or semi-aquatic.
Habitat: clear ponds, slowly moving streams.
Leaves: slender, broadens downward to a swollen base; up to 5 mm wide; attach in clusters to a
Root: bulb-like, underground corm.
Reproduction: male and female sporangia at the base; protected by a thin, transparent covering, velum