a plant genus of the order Lycopodiales (division Lycopodiophyta, i.e., club mosses), containing one species, P. drummondii, native to Australia and New Zealand. It has a relatively high number of chromosomes. Phylloglossum has a bulblike underground base, a few spike-shaped, succulent leaves, and one stalk bearing a cluster of scalelike leaves bearing sporangia. The plant is 3 to 5 cm (1 to 2 inches) tall. It dies to a tuber during the dry season and reappears with the return of the rains.