| Icarus filiformis | |
|---|---|
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| Icarus filiformis in Christchurch Botanic Gardens | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Division: | Polypodiophyta |
| Class: | Polypodiopsida |
| Order: | Polypodiales |
| Suborder: | Aspleniineae |
| Family: | Blechnaceae |
| Genus: | Icarus Gasper & Salino [1] |
| Species: | I. filiformis |
| Binomial name | |
| Icarus filiformis (A.Cunn.) Gasper & Salino [1] | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
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Icarus is a genus of ferns in the family Blechnaceae, subfamily Blechnoideae, with a single species Icarus filiformis, according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). [1] The genus is accepted in a 2016 classification of the family Blechnaceae, [3] but other sources sink it into a very broadly defined Blechnum, equivalent to the whole of the PPG I subfamily. [4]
Icarus filiformis, synonym Blechnum filiforme, [2] is known as thread fern or pānoko in Māori. It is endemic to New Zealand. It has a creeping and climbing habit. It has three different types of fronds: long climbing fronds with long pointed leaves, shorter creeping fronds with nearly round leaves, and fertile fronds with threadlike leaves that give the species its common name. [5]
