University of Vermont ScholarWorks @ UVM Graduate College Dissertations and Theses Dissertations and Theses 2018 Devonian origin and Cenozoic radiation in the clubmosses (Lycopodiaceae) Weston Testo University of Vermont Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis Part of the Systems Biology Commons Recommended Citation Testo, Weston, "Devonian origin and Cenozoic radiation in the clubmosses (Lycopodiaceae)" (2018). Graduate College Dissertations and Theses. 838. https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis/838 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations and Theses at ScholarWorks @ UVM. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate College Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ UVM. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. DEVONIAN ORIGIN AND CENOZOIC RADIATION IN THE CLUBMOSSES (LYCOPODIACEAE) A Dissertation Presented by Weston Testo to The Faculty of the Graduate College of The University of Vermont In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Specializing in Plant Biology January, 2018 Defense Date: November 13, 2017 Dissertation Examination Committee: David S. Barrington, Ph.D., Advisor Ingi Agnarsson, Ph.D., Chairperson Jill Preston, Ph.D. Cathy Paris, Ph.D. Cynthia J. Forehand, Ph.D., Dean of the Graduate College ABSTRACT Together with the heterosporous lycophytes, the clubmoss family (Lycopodiaceae) is the sister lineage to all other vascular land plants. Given the family’s important position in the land-plant phylogeny, studying the evolutionary history of this group is an important step towards a better understanding of plant evolution. Despite this, little is known about the Lycopodiaceae, and a well-sampled, robust phylogeny of the group is lacking.