Selaginella trisulcata Aspl., Ark. Bot.

Smith, Alan R. & Kessler, Michael, 2018, Prodromus of a fern flora for Bolivia. III. Selaginellaceae, Phytotaxa 344 (3), pp. 248-258 : 256

Selaginella trisulcata Aspl., Ark. Bot. 20A(7): 34. 1926.

Range: —Andes from Ecuador to Bolivia (CO, LP, SC); attributed also to Brazil by Alston et al. (1981), but this specimen (Prance & Pennington 1866, BM) is misidentified, according to Iván Valdespino (pers. comm.).

Ecology: —Common; terrestrial, prostrate, rarely erect at the branch tips, in humid forests, ravines; 750–3100 m.

Notes: — Selaginella poeppigiana (Spring) Splitg. , from Andean Ecuador to southern Peru, may occur in Bolivia. It differs from S. trisulcata by its two vascular bundles in the stems (vs. one), prolonged, ciliate auricle on the bases of the lateral leaves (vs. auricles not prolonged, denticulate, sometimes sparingly), elliptic axillary leaves (vs. ovate), and unequally dichotomously or pinnately (vs. equally, flabellately) branched ultimate segments of the branch system.

Selaginella articulata (Kunze) Spring from Colombia to Peru, may also occur in Bolivia. It has pubescent stems (vs. glabrous), especially on the branch axils, lateral leaves obtuse on main stems (vs. subacute), lateral leaves entire acroscopically (vs. denticulate), and more conspicuous, often darkened, and much wider articulations at the nodes (vs. inconspicuous, not darkened, and narrower).