Ctenitis sloanei

Ctenitis sloanei
Growing at the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Miami, FL, USA
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Division:	Polypodiophyta
Class:	Polypodiopsida
Order:	Polypodiales
Suborder:	Polypodiineae
Family:	Dryopteridaceae
Genus:	Ctenitis
Species:	C. sloanei
Binomial name
Ctenitis sloanei (Poepp. ex Spreng.) Morton
Synonyms
Synonymy Ctenitis ampla? [1] Dryopteris ampla [1]

Ctenitis sloanei (commonly known as the Florida tree fern, red hair comb fern, Bermuda cave fern, or Florida lacefern) is a species of wood fern native to USA (Florida), Bermuda, Cuba, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and northwestern South America. ^[2] Although it does not belong to the order Cyatheales (the group that contains most tree ferns), it is still considered by some to be a type of tree fern. ^{[3] [4] [5]} This would make it the only tree fern native to the continental United States (the parts of the US that exclude Hawaii, Alaska and overseas territories). ^[3] A member of the genus Ctenitis , it was formerly classified under the genus Dryopteris as Dryopteris ampla. ^{[1] [6] [5]} The population of this fern has been damaged and it is noted to possibly be endangered. ^{[7] [8]}

Description

Ctenitis sloanei mainly grows in moist tropical hammocks and near exposed limestone. It is a perennial which grows up to 1.21 meters (4 ft) tall on average. The fern is also evergreen. ^{[1] [9]}

References

1. "Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin". www.wildflower.org. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
2. "Bermuda Cave Fern". Government of Bermuda: The Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
3. "| Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants | University of Florida, IFAS". plant-directory.ifas.ufl.edu. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
4. Austin, Daniel F.; Iverson, Grace Blanchard; Nauman, Clifton E. (January 1979). "A Tropical Fern Grotto in Broward County, Florida" . American Fern Journal. 69 (1): 14. doi:10.2307/1546906. ISSN   0002-8444.
5. Diddell, Mary W. (1936). "Growing Florida Ferns" . American Fern Journal. 26 (1): 1. doi:10.2307/1544181. ISSN   0002-8444.
6. Morton, C. V. (April 1969). "New Combinations in Cyathea, Ctenitis, and Asplenium" . American Fern Journal. 59 (2): 65. doi:10.2307/1546051. ISSN   0002-8444.
7. Ward, Daniel B.; Austin, Daniel F.; Coile, Nancy C. (2003). "Endangered and Threatened Plants of Florida, Ranked in Order of Rarity". Castanea. 68 (2): 160–174. ISSN   0008-7475.
8. "MINUTES OF THE ENDANGERED PLANT ADVISORY COUNCIL" (PDF). Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.gov.
9. Calkins, Carroll (1989). Illustrated guide to gardening (1 ed.). Pleasantville, N.Y. : Reader's Digest Association. p. 389.