Isoetes tegetiformans

Isoetes tegetiformans
Conservation status
Critically Imperiled (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Lycopodiophyta
Class:	Isoetopsida
Order:	Isoetales
Family:	Isoetaceae
Genus:	Isoetes
Species:	I. tegetiformans
Binomial name
Isoetes tegetiformans Rury

Isoetes tegetiformans, commonly known as mat-forming quillwort or mat-forming Merlin's grass, is an aquatic pteridophyte endemic to the U.S. state of Georgia. It grows exclusively in shallow, temporary pools on granite outcrops, often with only 2 cm of soil. Only 7 populations are known to exist, and three of these have been destroyed since the plant's discovery in 1976. The remaining populations are threatened with habitat destruction due to quarrying, though the species is protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. New leaves quickly sprout after fall and winter rains, but during the dry summer months these typically shrivel.