Lygodium Temporal range: | |
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Lygodium japonicum | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Division: | Polypodiophyta |
Class: | Polypodiopsida |
Order: | Schizaeales |
Family: | Lygodiaceae C.Presl |
Genus: | Lygodium Sw. |
Type species | |
Lygodium scandens (L.) Sw. | |
Species | |
See text | |
Synonyms [1] | |
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Lygodium (climbing fern) is a genus of about 40 species of ferns, native to tropical regions across the world, with a few temperate species in eastern Asia and eastern North America. It is the sole genus in the family Lygodiaceae in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). [1] Alternatively, the genus may be placed as the only genus in the subfamily Lygodioideae of a more broadly defined family Schizaeaceae, [2] the family placement used in Plants of the World Online as of November 2019 [update] . [3] Per recent molecular evidence, Lygodiaceae is thought to have diverged relatively early from the other members of the Schizaeales due to the relatively high level of synonymous sequence divergence between the families within the Schizaeales. [4]
Lygodium are unusual in that the rachis, or midrib, of the frond is thin, flexible, and long, the frond unrolling with indeterminate growth and the rachis twining around supports, so that each frond forms a distinct vine. The fronds may be from 3–12 m (9.8–39.4 ft) long, depending on the species. They are also easily identifiable by their possession of apical buds that lay dormant until damage to the rachis occurs, allowing them a high degree of endurance. [5]
Lygodium is a wide ranging genus with native populations existing in Asia, Australasia, Africa, and North and South America. The genus is largely pan-tropical, with the center of diversity being Pacific islands, such as Borneo, the Philippine islands, and New Guinea. [5] There do exist several species tolerant of temperate climates such as Lygodium palmatum , which is endemic to the Appalachian region of eastern North America, and Lygodium japonicum , which is native to Japan, but highly invasive in the Southeastern United States. For more on this, refer to the "As invasive species" section below. The lack of extant Lygodium species in Europe is commonly attributed to the Pleistocene glaciation wiping them out. Similar extirpations did not occur in other high middle and high latitude areas, such as the United States and Japan that do have Lygodium populations at present. This discrepancy is though to be due to the East-West orientation of the European Alps preventing southward migration of Lygodium members, among other extirpated species, while the relatively North-South orientations of the Appalachian mountains and Japanese Alps allowed such southward migration. [5]
Lygodium species, known as nito, are used as a source of fibers in the Philippines. The fibers are used as material for weaving, most notably of traditional salakot headgear. [6] [7]
Some Lygodium species are now considered very problematic invasive weeds in the southeastern United States. Populations of Lygodium have increased more than 12-fold over the past decade, as noted by Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. [8]
Japanese climbing fern ( Lygodium japonicum ) was added to the Florida Noxious Weed List in 1999. It is also a major problem in pine plantations, causing contamination and harvesting problems for the pine straw industry. Old World climbing fern ( Lygodium microphyllum ) infests cypress swamps and other hydric sites, forming a monoculture. This massive infestation displaces all native flora and fauna, completely changing the ecosystem of the area. [9]
Plants in this genus have basal chromosome counts of n=28, 29, 30.
Phylogeny of Lygodium [10] [11] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schizaeales is an order of ferns.
Anemia is a genus of ferns. It is the only genus in the family Anemiaceae in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016. Alternatively, the genus may be placed as the only genus in the subfamily Anemioideae of a more broadly defined family Schizaeaceae, the family placement used in Plants of the World Online as of November 2019. Its species are sometimes called flowering ferns, but this term is more commonly applied to ferns of the genus Osmunda. Fronds are dimorphic; in fertile fronds, the two lowermost pinnae are highly modified to bear the sporangia.
Pteris (brake) is a genus of about 300 species of ferns in the subfamily Pteridoideae of the family Pteridaceae. They are native to tropical and subtropical regions, southward to New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa, north to Japan and North America. 78 species are found in China. Some species of Pteris have considerable economic and ecological value, such as Pteris multifida, Pteris ensiformis, Pteris vittata can be used for ornamental purposes; as a hyperaccumulator, Pteris multifida and Pteris vittata can be used to control soil pollution.
Oleandra is a genus of ferns. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016, it is the only genus in the family Oleandraceae, which is placed in suborder Polypodiineae, order Polypodiales. Alternatively, the family may be placed in a very broadly defined family Polypodiaceae sensu lato as the subfamily Oleandroideae.
Nephrolepis is a genus of about 30 species of ferns. It is the only genus in the family Nephrolepidaceae, placed in the suborder Aspleniineae of the order Polypodiales in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016. The genus is commonly referred to as macho ferns or Boston ferns. The fronds are long and narrow, and once-pinnate, in the case of one Bornean species reaching thirty feet in length.
Sphaeropteris is a genus of tree fern in the family Cyatheaceae. It has been treated as a subgenus within the genus Cyathea, but is accepted in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016.
Dennstaedtia is a mostly tropical and subtropical genus of ferns described as a genus in 1801. hayscented fern, or cup ferns, are common names for some species in this genus. Its best-known member is probably the temperate North-American hay-scented fern, Dennstaedtia punctilobula, which forms extensive clonal ground-cover colonies on level surfaces in the Appalachian area.
Hymenophyllum is a genus of ferns in the family Hymenophyllaceae. Its name means "membranous leaf", referring to the very thin translucent tissue of the fronds, which gives rise to the common name filmy fern for this and other thin-leaved ferns. The leaves are generally only one cell thick and lack stomata, making them vulnerable to desiccation. Consequently, they are found only in very humid areas, such as in moist forests and among sheltered rocks. They are small and easy to overlook.
Lygodium microphyllum is a climbing fern originating in tropical Africa, Southeast Asia, Melanesia and Australia. It is an invasive weed in Florida where it invades open forest and wetland areas. The type specimen was collected in the vicinity of Nabúa, on the island of Luzon in the Philippines by Luis Née.
Plagiogyria is a genus of ferns, the only genus in family Plagiogyriaceae in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016. Alternatively, the family may be treated as the subfamily Plagiogyrioideae of a very broadly defined family Cyatheaceae, the placement used for the genus in Plants of the World Online as of November 2019.
Trichomanes is a genus of ferns in the family Hymenophyllaceae, termed bristle ferns. The circumscription of the genus is disputed. All ferns in the genus are filmy ferns, with leaf tissue typically 2 cells thick. This thinness generally necessitates a permanently humid habitat, and makes the fronds somewhat translucent. Because of this membrane-like frond tissue, the plant is prone to drying out. “Filmy ferns” in the taxa Hymenophyllaceae grow in constantly wet environments. Many are found in cloud forests such as “Choco” in Colombia. There are also members of the taxa that can grow submersed in water.
Antrophyum is a genus of ferns in the family Pteridaceae. They are commonly known as lineleaf ferns.
Ptisana is a genus in the eusporangiate fern family Marattiaceae, comprising species historically treated in the genus Marattia. The establishment of this genus follows the 2008 work by Andrew G. Murdock, which supported recognition of this group on the basis of genetic analysis and morphology. Ptisana can be distinguished from Marattia by the presence of distinct sutures at the point of leaflet attachment, deeply cut synangia, and the absence of labiate sporangial apertures. The name Ptisana is derived from the Latin word for pearl barley, an allusion to the shape of the synangia.
Lygodium palmatum is the only species of its genus native to North America. Unlike most species in the genus, this one, called the American climbing fern, Hartford fern, or Alice's fern, is extremely hardy in temperate zones .The name "Hartford Fern" being derived from its former prevalence in Hartford and the surrounding Connecticut area. It was extensively used as a Christmas decoration by early settlers, leading to the first law protecting a plant species in the United States in 1869.
Lindsaea, common name necklace fern, is a genus of around 180 species of fern, 15 of which reach Australia. The name is in honour of surgeon John Lindsay of Jamaica. The genus is sometimes spelt Lindsaya.
Lygodium japonicum is a species of fern that is known by the common names vine-like fern and Japanese climbing fern. It is native to eastern Asia, including Taiwan, Japan, Korea, southeastern Asia, and India, and eastern Australia. The fern is present in the southeastern United States and Puerto Rico as an introduced species.
Actinostachys pennula, the ray spiked fern or tropical curly-grass, is a fern native mainly to Southern Florida and is an endangered plant species.
Dipteris is a genus of about seven species of ferns, native to tropical regions across the world, particularly Asia, with a species in northeastern Queensland in Australia. It is one of two genera in the family Dipteridaceae.
Lygodium articulatum, commonly referred to as mangemange or Bushman's mattress, is a fern endemic to the North Island forests of New Zealand. Mangemange is an endemic species and is unique compared to other ferns in the area due to the vine–like curtain it creates in the canopy. Although the majority of the plant is found in the canopy of the surrounding forest, the roots and stem of mangemange form on the ground, meaning it cannot be classified as an epiphyte.
Syngramma is a genus of ferns in the subfamily Pteridoideae of the family Pteridaceae. Species are native to south-east tropical Asia and the Pacific.