Dryopteris expansa

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Dryopteris expansa
Dryopteris expansa.jpg
Status TNC G4.svg
Apparently Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Polypodiophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Polypodiales
Suborder: Polypodiineae
Family: Dryopteridaceae
Genus: Dryopteris
Species:
D. expansa
Binomial name
Dryopteris expansa
(C. Presl) Fraser-Jenk. & Jermy

Dryopteris expansa, the alpine buckler fern, northern buckler-fern [1] or spreading wood fern, is a species of fern native to cool temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, south at high altitudes in mountains to Spain and Greece in southern Europe, to Japan in eastern Asia, and to central California in North America. The species was first described from Germany. It prefers cool, moist mixed or evergreen forests and rock crevices on alpine slopes, often growing on rotting logs and tree stumps and rocky slopes. It is characteristically riparian in nature, and is especially associated with stream banks.

Contents

Description

It has a stout, woody, creeping or ascending stock with large, green lacy fronds typically 10–60 cm (4–24 in) and rarely 90 cm (35 in) long. The deltate [2] fronds are bipinnate at the base, pinnate toward the apex. The rhizome is erect or ascending, often producing offshoots. Sori occur medially on the underside of the pinnae. Propagation is by spores and vegetatively by division of the rhizome.

It is easily confused with the related Dryopteris dilatata (broad buckler fern), differing in the usually smaller fronds, and in the pale brown scales on the frond stem being more uniform in color, rarely having a dark central stripe. It also differs in cytology in having 2n = 82 chromosomes (164 in D. dilatata). Leaves of D. expansa are very similar to those of D. arguta . [3]

The species name of this fern, expansa, is from the Latin expando, meaning "to spread out, spread apart, to expand". Other common names include northern wood fern, arching wood fern, spiny wood fern and crested wood fern.

Uses

The root contains filicin, a substance that paralyses tapeworms and other internal parasites [ medical citation needed ] and has been used in herbal medicine as a worm expellent.

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Matteuccia is a genus of ferns with one species: Matteuccia struthiopteris. The species epithet struthiopteris comes from Ancient Greek words στρουθίων (strouthíōn) "ostrich" and πτερίς (pterís) "fern", so named for the large spore bearing structures resembling ostrich feathers.

<i>Dryopteris</i> Genus of plants

Dryopteris, commonly called the wood ferns, male ferns, or buckler ferns, is a fern genus in the family Dryopteridaceae, subfamily Dryopteridoideae, according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). There are about 300-400 species in the genus. The species are distributed in Asia, the Americas, Europe, Africa, and the Pacific islands, with the highest diversity in eastern Asia. It is placed in the family Dryopteridaceae, subfamily Dryopteridoideae, according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). Many of the species have stout, slowly creeping rootstocks that form a crown, with a vase-like ring of fronds. The sori are round, with a peltate indusium. The stipes have prominent scales.

<i>Dryopteris filix-mas</i> Species of fern in the family Dryopteridaceae

Dryopteris filix-mas, the male fern, is a common fern of the temperate Northern Hemisphere, native to much of Europe, Asia, and North America. It favours damp shaded areas in the understory of woodlands, but also shady places on hedge-banks, rocks, and screes. Near the northern limit of its distribution it prefers sunny, well-drained sites. It is much less abundant in North America than in Europe. The plant is sometimes referred to in ancient literature as worm fern, reflecting its former use against tapeworm.

<i>Gymnocarpium dryopteris</i> Species of fern

Gymnocarpium dryopteris, the western oakfern, common oak fern, oak fern, or northern oak fern, is a deciduous fern of the family Cystopteridaceae. It is widespread across much of North America and Eurasia. It has been found in Canada, the United States, Greenland, China, Japan, Korea, Russia, and most of Europe.

<i>Polystichum aculeatum</i> Species of fern

Polystichum aculeatum, the hard shield-fern, is an evergreen fern native to Europe. It is most abundant in upland regions of the British Isles and western France, where it benefits from the combination of mild winters and moist summers, but also occurs more locally across most of Europe except northern Scandinavia, northern Russia; in the Mediterranean region it is confined to high altitudes. It grows on steep slopes in woodlands. it is sometimes considered an indicator of the presence of ancient woodlands.

<i>Dryopteris affinis</i> Species of fern in the family Dryopteridaceae

Dryopteris affinis, the scaly male fern or golden-scaled male fern, is a fern native to western and southern Europe and southwestern Asia. It is most abundant on moist soils in woodlands in areas with high humidity, such as the British Isles and western France. In the Mediterranean region and the Caucasus it is confined to high altitudes.

<i>Dryopteris marginalis</i> Species of fern

Dryopteris marginalis, vernacularly known as the marginal shield fern or marginal wood fern, is a perennial species of fern found in damp shady areas throughout eastern North America, from Texas to Minnesota and Newfoundland. It favors moderately acid to circumneutral soils in cooler areas but is fairly drought-resistant once established. In the warmer parts of its range, it is most likely to be found on north-facing non-calcareous rock faces. It is common in many altitudes throughout its range, from high ledges to rocky slopes and stream banks. Marginal wood fern's name derives from the fact that the sori are located on the margins, or edges of the leaflets.

<i>Dryopteris arguta</i> Species of fern

Dryopteris arguta, with the common name coastal woodfern, is a species of wood fern. It is native to the west coast and western interior mountain ranges of North America, from British Columbia, throughout California, and into Arizona.

<i>Dryopteris carthusiana</i> Species of fern

Dryopteris carthusiana is a species of fern native to damp forests throughout the Holarctic Kingdom. It is known as the narrow buckler-fern in the United Kingdom, and as the spinulose woodfern in North America.

<i>Dryopteris cristata</i> Species of fern

Dryopteris cristata is a species of fern native to wetlands throughout the Northern Hemisphere. It is known as crested wood fern or crested buckler-fern. This plant is a tetraploid species of hybrid origin, one parent being Dryopteris ludoviciana and the other being the unknown, apparently extinct species, dubbed Dryopteris semicristata, which is also one of the presumed parents of Dryopteris carthusiana. D. cristata in turn is one of the parents of Dryopteris clintoniana, another fern of hybrid origin.

<i>Asplenium trichomanes</i> Species of fern in the family Aspleniaceae

Asplenium trichomanes, the maidenhair spleenwort, is a small fern in the spleenwort genus Asplenium. It is a widespread and common species, occurring almost worldwide in a variety of rocky habitats. It is a variable fern with several subspecies.

<i>Dryopteris intermedia</i> Species of wood fern

Dryopteris intermedia, the intermediate wood fern or evergreen wood fern, is a perennial, evergreen wood fern native to eastern North America. It is a diploid species, and is the parent of several species of hybrid origin, including Dryopteris carthusiana. Other common names for this species include intermediate shield fern, fancy wood fern, fancy fern, glandular wood fern, American shield fern and common wood fern.

<i>Dryopteris campyloptera</i> Species of fern

Dryopteris campyloptera, also known as the mountain wood fern, is a large American fern of higher elevations and latitudes. It was formerly known as Dryopteris spinulosa var. americana. This species also has been mistakenly referred to as D. austriaca and D. dilatata.

<i>Gymnocarpium robertianum</i> Species of fern

Gymnocarpium robertianum, the limestone fern or scented oakfern, is a fern of the family Cystopteridaceae.

<i>Dryopteris macropholis</i> Species of fern

Dryopteris macropholis is a species of fern. It is distributed on the Marquesas Islands.

<i>Dryopteris cycadina</i> Species of fern

Dryopteris cycadina, the shaggy shield fern or black wood fern, is a species of deciduous or semi-evergreen fern in the family Dryopteridaceae, native to northern India, China, Taiwan and Japan. It grows to 60 cm (24 in) tall by 45 cm (18 in) wide, and produces pale green fronds maturing to dark green, on erect rhizomes.

<i>Dryopteris dilatata</i> Species of fern

Dryopteris dilatata, the broad buckler-fern, is a robust species of deciduous or semievergreen fern in the family Dryopteridaceae, native to Europe, particularly western and central Europe. In southern Europe, it is mostly found in mountainous regions. It is also found between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. It grows to 90 cm (35 in) tall by 120 cm (47 in) wide, with dark green tripinnate fronds, the ribs covered in brown scales.

<i>Dryopteris aemula</i> Species of fern

Dryopteris aemula, the hay-scented buckler-fern or hay-scented fern, is a species of perennial leptosporangiate fern.

<i>Hymenophyllum peltatum</i> Species of fern

Hymenophyllum peltatum, is a species of filmy fern widely distributed across Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, South America. Predominantly a rainforest species with delicate foliage arrangements, also known as the 'alpine filmy-fern'. Members of the Hymenophyllaceae family display almost translucent fronds, bearing thickness of just a single cell.

References

  1. BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  2. Jenkins Fraser and Jermy Fraser. 1977. Dryopteris expansa (C. Presl), Brit. Fern Gaz. volume 11: page 338.
  3. C. Michael Hogan. 2008. Coastal Woodfern (Dryopteris arguta), GlobalTwitcher, ed. N. Stromberg Archived 2011-07-11 at the Wayback Machine