quillworts
Isoetes
Isoetes, commonly known as the quillworts, is a genus of lycopod. It is the only living genus in the family Isoetaceae and order Isoetales. As of 2016, there were about 200 recognized species, with a cosmopolitan distribution mostly in aquatic habitats but with the individual species often scarce to rare. Species virtually identical to modern quillworts have existed since the Jurassic epoch, though the timing of the origin of modern Isoetes is subject to considerable uncertainty.
The name of the genus may also be spelled Isoëtes. The diaeresis (two dots over the e) indicates that the o and the e are to be pronounced in two distinct syllables. Including this in print is optional; either spelling (Isoetes or Isoëtes) is correct.
60 branches of this genus, most-observed first
spiny-spored quillwort
speciesIsoetes echinospora
Nuttall's quillwort
speciesIsoetes nuttallii
lake quillwort
speciesIsoetes lacustris
Blackfoot quillwort
speciesIsoetes melanopoda
Durieu's quillwort
speciesIsoetes durieui
Land Quillwort
speciesIsoetes histrix
Butler's quillwort
speciesIsoetes butleri
Orcutt's Quillwort
speciesIsoetes orcuttii
Bolander's quillwort
speciesIsoetes bolanderi
Howell's quillwort
speciesIsoetes howellii
Taiwan Quillwort
speciesIsoetes taiwanensis
Black-spored Quillwort
speciesIsoetes melanospora
Engelmann's quillwort
speciesIsoetes engelmannii
rock quillwort
speciesIsoetes lithophila
Stellenbosch Quillwort
speciesIsoetes stellenbossiensis
Veiled Quillwort
speciesIsoetes longissima
Alpine Quillwort
speciesIsoetes alpina
Isoetes novogranadensis
speciesIsoetes novogranadensis
Strong Quillwort
speciesIsoetes valida
Piedmont Quillwort
speciesIsoetes piedmontana
western quillwort
speciesIsoetes occidentalis
Piedmont Quillwort
speciesIsoetes malinverniana
Tuckerman's quillwort
speciesIsoetes tuckermanii
St. Lawrence Quillwort
speciesIsoetes laurentiana
spiny-spore quillwort
speciesIsoetes tenella
Columbia Quillwort
speciesIsoetes minima
Mat-forming Quillwort
speciesIsoetes tegetiformans
maritime quillwort
speciesIsoetes maritima
Iberian Quillwort
speciesIsoetes delilei
Cape Quillwort
speciesIsoetes capensis
Isoetes storkii
speciesIsoetes storkii
Texas Quillwort
speciesIsoetes texana
Stout Quillwort
speciesIsoetes gunnii
Louisiana Quillwort
speciesIsoetes louisianensis
Isoetes asiatica
speciesIsoetes asiatica
Isoetes andicola
speciesIsoetes andicola
northern quillwort
speciesIsoetes septentrionalis
Winter Quillwort
speciesIsoetes hyemalis
Tennessee quillwort
speciesIsoetes tennesseensis
Azorean Quillwort
speciesIsoetes azorica
southern quillwort
speciesIsoetes flaccida
Isoetes sinensis
speciesIsoetes sinensis
Drummond's quillwort
speciesIsoetes drummondii
Victory Quillwort
speciesIsoetes stephanseniae
Isoetes kirkii
speciesIsoetes kirkii
Isoetes delalandei
speciesIsoetes delalandei
Isoetes microvela
speciesIsoetes microvela
Appalachian quillwort
speciesIsoetes appalachiana
Isoetes japonica
speciesIsoetes japonica
prototype quillwort
speciesIsoetes prototypus
Isoetes setacea
speciesIsoetes setacea
Small Quillwort
speciesIsoetes pusilla
Isoetes andina
speciesIsoetes andina
Flat Rock Quillwort
speciesIsoetes graniticola
Isoetes coromandelina
speciesIsoetes coromandelina
River Quillwort
speciesIsoetes fluitans
Isoetes brasiliensis
speciesIsoetes brasiliensis
Phrygian Quillwort
speciesIsoetes phrygia
Lechler's Quillwort
speciesIsoetes lechleri
Big-spore Quillwort
speciesIsoetes macrospora
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Isoetes in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 60115.