Lygodium palmatum

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American climbing fern
Lygodium palmatum.jpg
Status TNC G4.svg
Apparently Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Polypodiophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Schizaeales
Family: Lygodiaceae
Genus: Lygodium
Species:
L. palmatum
Binomial name
Lygodium palmatum

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, [2] Hartford fern (after Hartford, Connecticut), or Alice's fern, is extremely hardy in temperate zones (other species tolerant of temperate climates include New Zealand's Lygodium articulatum and the Japanese Lygodium japonicum , which is now highly invasive in Florida).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. [3]

Contents

This fern is on endangered or threatened species lists in several states. It requires constant moisture, high light levels, and intensely acid soil to thrive. Where these conditions are present, it grows in abundance. This leads to a pattern of abundant, but rare and localized populations throughout its range. Its range is essentially Appalachian, ranging from New England down through the Appalachians, Piedmont and Appalachian plateaus into the American south.

Like other rare Lygodium species (such as Lygodium articulatum ), their spores have a relatively meager viability, with even immediately sown spores having less than a 50% germination rate, and spores sown after 6 months of storage having less than 5%. [4]

Taxonomy

Lygodium palmatum is generally accepted to be part of a clade of basally divergent members of the Lygodium genus. [5] [4] Some modern systematists have placed it as the sole member of a basally divergent subgenus Palmata, [6] while others have placed it in a clade with Lygodium articulatum . [5] The divergence of these results is likely due to the differential out group selection of the two studies. This divergence is evidenced both by molecular phylogenetics, and by various morphological discrepancies between Lygodium palmatum and the remainder of the genus. [4] Most notably, their spores are substantially smoother than any other species in the genus, and they possess dichotomously branched pinnae, and high levels of frond dimorphism. [4]

Interestingly, even within the limited present range of the species, there are regional differences that some argue may constitute subspecies. Of particular note is the divergence in the character of hairs on the abaxial surface of pinnae - they are largely glabrous in specimens found Northeast of Maryland, and are pubescent in those Southwest of Maryland, and in isolated populations found in Ohio and Michigan. [4]

Lygodium palmatum has a basal chromosome count of n=30, as is common among the genus, with the other common ploidy levels being n=28 and 29.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fern</span> Class of vascular plants

The ferns are a group of vascular plants that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissues that conduct water and nutrients and in having life cycles in which the branched sporophyte is the dominant phase.

<i>Lygodium</i> Genus of ferns

Lygodium 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. Alternatively, the genus may be placed as the only genus in the subfamily Lygodioideae of a more broadly defined family Schizaeaceae, the family placement used in Plants of the World Online as of November 2019. 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.

<i>Osmunda</i> Genus of ferns

Osmunda is a genus of primarily temperate-zone ferns of family Osmundaceae. Five to ten species have been listed for this genus.

<i>Salvinia</i> Genus of aquatic plants

Salvinia, a genus in the family Salviniaceae, is a floating fern named in honor of Anton Maria Salvini, a 17th-century Italian scientist. Watermoss is a common name for Salvinia. The genus was published in 1754 by Jean-François Séguier, in his description of the plants found round Verona, Plantae Veronenses Twelve species are recognized, at least three of which are believed to be hybrids, in part because their sporangia are found to be empty.

<i>Oleandra</i> Genus of ferns

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyatheaceae</span> Family of ferns

The Cyatheaceae are a family of ferns, the scaly tree ferns, one of eight families in the order Cyatheales in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016. Alternatively, the family may defined much more broadly as the only family in the Cyatheales, with the PPG I family treated as the subfamily Cyatheoideae. The narrower circumscription is used in this article.

<i>Polystichum munitum</i> Western North American fern

Polystichum munitum, the western swordfern, is an evergreen perennial fern native to western North America, where it is one of the most abundant ferns in forested areas. It occurs along the Pacific coast from southeastern Alaska to southern California, and also inland east to southeastern British Columbia, northern Idaho and western Montana, with disjunctive populations in northern British Columbia, Canada; the Black Hills in South Dakota, United States; and Guadalupe Island off of Baja California, Mexico. Western swordfern is known to have locally naturalized in parts of Great Britain and Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dennstaedtiaceae</span> Family of ferns

Dennstaedtiaceae is one of fifteen families in the order Polypodiales, the most derived families within monilophytes (ferns). It comprises 10 genera with ca 240 known species, including one of the world's most abundant ferns, Pteridium aquilinum (bracken). Members of the order generally have large, highly divided leaves and have either small, round intramarginal sori with cup-shaped indusia or linear marginal sori with a false indusium formed from the reflexed leaf margin. The morphological diversity among members of the order has confused past taxonomy, but recent molecular studies have supported the monophyly of the order and the family. The reclassification of Dennstaedtiaceae and the rest of the monilophytes was published in 2006, so most of the available literature is not updated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hymenophyllaceae</span> Family of ferns

The Hymenophyllaceae, the filmy ferns and bristle ferns, are a family of two to nine genera and about 650 known species of ferns, with a subcosmopolitan distribution, but generally restricted to very damp places or to locations where they are wetted by spray from waterfalls or springs. A recent fossil find shows that ferns of Hymenophyllaceae have existed since at least the Upper Triassic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lindsaeaceae</span> Family of ferns

Lindsaeaceae is a pantropical family of ferns in the order Polypodiales. It contains six or seven genera with about 220 known species, some of which also extend into the more temperate regions of eastern Asia, New Zealand, and South America.

<i>Lophosoria quadripinnata</i> Species of fern

Lophosoria quadripinnata(J.F.Gmel.) C.Chr. is a species of fern that, according to DNA molecular analysis, belongs to the family Dicksoniaceae, where it is placed in the genus Lophosoria. It is found in the Americas spanning from Cuba and Mexico to Chile. In Chile it is present in the area between Talca and Aysén including Juan Fernández Islands. In Argentina it grows only in the humid valleys of western Neuquén and Río Negro Province. Diamondleaf fern is a common name. In Spanish it is known as 'ampe' or palmilla, but one has to remember that there are several species of ferns called "palmillas" that have larger or smaller fronds, and which grow in colder climates. It is a medium-sized plant, growing to about 4–5 feet and even though the rhizome does not grow a trunk, it is clearly related to the other tree ferns due to features that were apparently already present in their common ancestor, like 'pneumathodes', and the rhizome which changed from the dorsiventral symmetry typical of the other ferns, to a radial symmetry typical of tree ferns. Their large and multiple pinnate fronds, with the petiole raised adaxially, and the hairs on the rhizome and lower part of the petioles, also resemble those of tree ferns. To identify the species, use the position and characteristics of the spores found on the fertile fronds. The genus already existed in the Cretaceous Period in southern Gondwana according to fossil remains found in Antarctica. The species is well known as an ornamental plant.

<i>Antrophyum</i> Genus of ferns

Antrophyum is a genus of ferns in the family Pteridaceae. They are commonly known as lineleaf ferns.

<i>Myriopteris cooperae</i> Species of fern

Myriopteris cooperae, formerly Cheilanthes cooperae, is a species of lip fern known by the common name Mrs. Cooper's lip fern, or simply Cooper's lip fern.

<i>Jamesonia</i> Genus of ferns

Jamesonia is a genus of ferns in the subfamily Pteridoideae of the family Pteridaceae. It now includes the formerly separate genus Eriosorus.

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

Asplenium resiliens, the blackstem spleenwort or little ebony spleenwort, is a species of fern native to the Western Hemisphere, ranging from the southern United States south to Uruguay, including parts of the Caribbean. Found on limestone substrates, it is named for its distinctive purplish-black stipe and rachis. A triploid, it is incapable of sexual reproduction and produces spores apogamously. First described by Martens and Galeotti in 1842 under the previously used name Asplenium parvulum, the species was given its current, valid name by Kunze in 1844. Several similar species are known from the tropics; A. resiliens may have arisen from these species by reticulate evolution, but precise relationships among the group are not yet certain.

<i>Anchistea</i> Genus of ferns

Anchistea is a genus of leptosporangiate ferns in the family Blechnaceae. It has only one species, Anchistea virginica the Virginia chain fern, which has long creeping, scaly, underground stems or rhizomes giving rise to tall widely separated, deciduous, single leaves. In contrast, the leaves of Osmundastrum cinnamomeum, which can be mistaken for A. virginica, grow in a group from a crown. Also in contrast to O. cinnamomeum the leaves are monomorphic without distinct fertile fronds. The lower petiole or stipe is dark purple to black, shiny and swollen, the upper rachis is dull green. The leaf blade is green and lanceolate, composed of 12 to 23 paired, alternate pinnatifid pinnae. The pinnae are subdivided into 15 to 20 paired segments that are ovate to oblong. The lower rachis is naked for about half its length. The sori or spore-producing bodies are found on the underside of the pinnae and are long and form a double row which outlines the major veins of the pinnae. In common with all ferns, A. virginica exhibits a gametophyte stage in its life cycle and develops a haploid reproductive prothallus as an independent plant. The spores are produced in red-brown sori which line the spaces (areolae) between the costa and costules. Further photographs can be found at the Connecticut Botanical Society and Ontario Ferns websites.

<i>Myriopteris tomentosa</i> Species of fern

Myriopteris tomentosa, formerly known as Cheilanthes tomentosa, is a perennial fern known as woolly lipfern. Woolly lipfern is native to the southern United States, from Virginia to Arizona and Georgia, and Mexico.

Antrophyopsis is a genus of vittarioid ferns, a member of subfamily Vittarioideae and family Pteridaceae. Like other vittarioids, ferns in the genus are epiphytes with simple, straplike leaves. They are native to tropical Africa and islands of the Indian Ocean. The presence of a midrib in their leaves, the shape of their spores, and the shape of cells at the tip of their paraphyses help to distinguish members of the genus from other vittarioids. The group was raised to the level of genus in 2016.

<i>Lygodium articulatum</i> Species of fern

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.

<i>Myriopteris rufa</i> Species of fern

Myriopteris rufa, commonly known as Eaton's lip fern, is a moderately-sized fern of Mexico and the southwestern United States, with outlying populations in Costa Rica and the Appalachian Mountains. One of the cheilanthoid ferns, it was usually classified in the genus Cheilanthes, as Cheilanthes eatonii, until 2013, when the genus Myriopteris was again recognized as separate from Cheilanthes. It typically grows in rocky habitats, most frequently on limestone but also sometimes on basalt or shale.

References

  1. "NatureServe Explorer 2.0 - Lygodium palmatum Climbing Fern". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  2. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Lygodium palmatum". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  3. "Lygodium palmatum (American Climbing Fern, Climbing Fern, Creeping Fern, Hartford Fern) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox". plants.ces.ncsu.edu. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Garrison Hanks, Judith (1998). A mongprahic study of Lygodium Swartz. University of Michigan.
  5. 1 2 Madeira, Paul T.; Pemberton, Robert W.; Center, Ted D. (2008-06-01). "A molecular phylogeny of the genus Lygodium (Schizaeaceae) with special reference to the biological control and host range testing of Lygodium microphyllum". Biological Control. 45 (3): 308–318. Bibcode:2008BiolC..45..308M. doi:10.1016/j.biocontrol.2008.02.004. ISSN   1049-9644.
  6. Nitta, Joel H.; Schuettpelz, Eric; Ramírez-Barahona, Santiago; Iwasaki, Wataru (2022-08-24). "An open and continuously updated fern tree of life". Frontiers in Plant Science. 13: 909768. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.909768 . ISSN   1664-462X. PMC   9449725 . PMID   36092417.