Aka Firmoss, they are creeping plants that have whorls of needles like fir trees. Spores are born at the base of some leaves. They may be at the end of the shoot (the club), or be in the middle of a branch.

Class: Lycopodiopsida Order: Lycopodiaceae

Strongly ranked leaves forming flat sprays, or awl shaped leaves similar to clubmoss. Spores born in sacs between leaf and branch. Dichotomously branching (each branch forks into exactly two paths).

Class: Lycopodiopsida Order: Selaginellales

Aquatic or semi aquatic, and rarely more than 8 inches tall. Spores born in hollows at leaf base.

Class: Lycopodiopsida Order: Isoetales

Small green plants with various leaf shapes. All with a stalk that bears many spore sacs.

Class: Polypodiopsida Subclass: Ophioglossidae

A hollow ridged stem that may bear whorls of branches at nodes. Both stem and branches are photosynthetic (and green), tiny leaves look like little black needles at each node of the stem. Spores born in strobili (club like structure) at the end of some (not all) stems.

Class: Polypodiopsida Subclass: Equisetidae

Ferns come in many different shapes and sizes, but most have compound pinnate or multi-pinnate leaves (fronds) that attach to a running buried rhizome. Spore sacs are born under the leaves. New growth emerges as fiddle heads.

Class: Polypodiopsida Subclasses: Polypodiidae and Marattiidae