Ophioglossum azoricum

Last updated

Ophioglossum azoricum
Ophioglossum azoricum.jpg
In coastal grassland, Dooncarton, County Mayo, Ireland
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Polypodiophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Ophioglossales
Family: Ophioglossaceae
Genus: Ophioglossum
Species:
O. azoricum
Binomial name
Ophioglossum azoricum
C. Presl 1984
Synonyms
  • Ophioglossum vulgatumL. subsp. ambiguum(Coss. & Germ.) E.F.Warb.
  • Ophioglossum sabulicolumSauzé & Maillard
  • Ophioglossum vulgatumL. subsp. vulgatum var. minusOstenf. & J.Gröntved
  • Ophioglossum vulgatumL. subsp. vulgatum var. islandicumA$A.Löve & D.Löve
  • Ophioglossum vulgatumL. subsp. polyphyllumauct., non A.Braun
  • Ophioglossum sabulicolaSauzé

Ophioglossum azoricum, the small adder's-tongue fern or lesser adder's-tongue fern, is a small fern of the family Ophioglossaceae.

Contents

Distribution

Ophioglossum azoricum is an Atlantic–Mediterranean species native to islands in the northern Atlantic Ocean and adjacent western and southwestern Europe from Greenland, Iceland and the British Isles in the north, to Macaronesia and the Iberian Peninsula in the south. It also occurs in the Toscana region of Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic, and east to Cyprus, Turkey and Lebanon. [1]

This species mostly occurs on bare or shortly vegetated ground on exposed coastal clifftops. An exception to this habitat preference is populations in the New Forest, Hampshire, where plants occur in tightly grazed damp grassland in a non-maritime setting. [2]

In Iceland [3] and Greenland, [4] it is restricted to geothermal areas where higher temperatures allow its survival. This species is on the Icelandic list of endangered species.

Description

The frond of Ophioglossum azoricum consists of a single, pointed leaf blade and a narrow pointed spore-bearing spike on a stalk. The spike has about 4–18 segments on each side, each of which opens up when ripe to release spores. The sterile blades are broadest near the middle and taper towards both ends.

Taxonomy

This taxon is sometimes treated as a subspecies of Ophioglossum vulgatum , as Ophioglossum vulgatum ssp. ambiguum(Coss. & Germ.) E.F. Warburg.

This species is thought to be derived from a hybrid between Ophioglossum vulgatum and Ophioglossum lusitanicum . [5]

This species has a chromosome number of 2n=c.480. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bracken</span> Genus of ferns

Bracken (Pteridium) is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns (Pteridophyta) are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells. Brackens are noted for their large, highly divided leaves. They are found on all continents except Antarctica and in all environments except deserts, though their typical habitat is moorland. The genus probably has the widest distribution of any fern in the world.

<i>Ophioglossum</i> Genus of fern in the family Ophioglossaceae

Ophioglossum, the adder's-tongue ferns, is a genus of about 50 species of ferns in the family Ophioglossaceae. The name Ophioglossum comes from the Greek meaning "snake-tongue". Their cosmopolitan distribution is mainly in tropical and subtropical habitats.

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

Ophioglossaceae, the adder's-tongue family, is a small family of ferns. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016, it is the only family in the order Ophioglossales, which together with the Psilotales is placed in the subclass Ophioglossidae. The Ophioglossidae are one of the groups traditionally known as eusporangiate ferns. Members of the family differ from other ferns in a number of ways. Many have only a single fleshy leaf at a time. Their gametophytes are subterranean and rely on fungi for energy.

<i>Ophioglossum vulgatum</i> Species of fern in the family Ophioglossaceae

Ophioglossum vulgatum, commonly known as adder's-tongue, southern adders-tongue or adders-tongue fern, is a species of fern in the family Ophioglossaceae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Agnes, Isles of Scilly</span> Island in the Isles of Scilly, UK

St Agnes is the southernmost populated island of the Isles of Scilly. Thus the island's Troy Town Farm is the southernmost settlement in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bookham Commons</span>

Bookham Commons are two commons, situated just to the north of the villages of Great Bookham and Little Bookham, in Surrey, England, 154.7 hectares in extent; the individual parts are named Great Bookham Common and Little Bookham Common. A group of dwellings known as the Isle of Wight is situated within the site, and a track, Common Road, leads to it from the northwest. Little Bookham Common lies south and west of this track, whereas Great Bookham Common lies to the east.

<i>Selaginella selaginoides</i> Species of spore-bearing plant

Selaginella selaginoides is a non-flowering plant of the spikemoss genus Selaginella with a wide distribution around the Northern Hemisphere. It resembles a moss in appearance but is a vascular plant belonging to the division Lycopodiophyta. It has a number of common names including lesser clubmoss, club spikemoss, northern spikemoss, low spikemoss and prickly mountain-moss. This plant has one close relative, Selaginella deflexa, native to Hawaii. These two plants form a small clade that is sister to all other Selaginella species.

<i>Equisetum variegatum</i> Species of vascular plant in the horsetail family Equisetaceae

Equisetum variegatum, commonly known as variegated horsetail or variegated scouring rush, is a species of vascular plant in the horsetail family Equisetaceae. It is native to the Northern Hemisphere where it has a circumpolar distribution.

<i>Botrychium lunaria</i> Species of fern in the family Ophioglossaceae

Botrychium lunaria is a species of fern in the family Ophioglossaceae known by the common name moonwort or common moonwort. It is the most widely distributed moonwort, growing throughout the Northern Hemisphere across Eurasia and from Alaska to Greenland, as well as temperate parts of the Southern Hemisphere.

<i>Ophioglossum californicum</i> Species of fern in the family Ophioglossaceae

Ophioglossum californicum, known by the common name California adder's tongue, is an uncommon species of fern in the family Ophioglossaceae.

<i>Ophioglossum pusillum</i> Species of fern in the family Ophioglossaceae

Ophioglossum pusillum is a species of fern in the family Ophioglossaceae known by the common name northern adder's tongue.

Cheiroglossa palmata, synonyms Ophioderma palmatum and Ophioglossum palmatum, variously known as hand fern, dwarf staghorn, or hand tongue, is an epiphytic or terrestrial fern. As an epiphyte it grows in old leaf bases of the cabbage palmetto.

Tuthill Quarry is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the County Durham district of north-east County Durham, England. It lies just over 1 km east of the village of Haswell.

<i>Ophioglossum lusitanicum</i> Species of fern in the family Ophioglossaceae

Ophioglossum lusitanicum, the least adder's-tongue, is a small fern of the family Ophioglossaceae. It is a pan-tropically species categorised as least concern by the IUCN (2001).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wingletang Down (St Agnes)</span>

Wingletang Down is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) on the southern side of the island of St Agnes in the Isles of Scilly, England, UK, which is noted for its biological characteristics. The site is managed by the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust and is within the Isles of Scilly Heritage Coast and the Isles of Scilly Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is the only site in Great Britain and Ireland for the small fern, least adder's–tongue. As of 11 September 2009 the SSSI was considered to be in ″unconditional recovering″ condition because European gorse and bramble are at unacceptable levels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martins' Meadows</span>

Monewden Meadows is a 3.7-hectare (9.1-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south-west of Monewden in Suffolk. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, and it is managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust under the name Martins' Meadows.

<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>Ophioglossum engelmannii</i> Species of fern in the family Ophioglossaceae

Ophioglossum engelmannii, commonly known as the limestone adder's-tongue, is a species of fern native to the Western Hemisphere. It is widespread and native to the United States, Mexico, and Central America. Its primary natural habitat is dry barrens and glades in calcareous areas.

Ophioglossum petiolatum is a species of fern in the family Ophioglossaceae. William Jackson Hooker named this species in 1823.

References

  1. 1 2 Christenhusz, M., Bento Elias, R., Dyer, R., Ivanenko, Y., Rouhan, G., Rumsey, F. & Väre, H. (2011). "Ophioglossum azoricum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2011: e.T83610391A85446988. Retrieved 8 December 2020.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. Ophioglossum azoricum at Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora
  3. Löve Á. (1983) Flora of Iceland.Almenna Bókafélagid
  4. Lid J, Lid DT, Elven R. 1994 Norsk flora. 6th edition. Oslo: Det Norske Samlaget
  5. 1 2 Stace, Clive (1997). New Flora of The British Isles, second edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press