Osmunda Temporal range: | |
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Osmunda regalis | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Division: | Polypodiophyta |
Class: | Polypodiopsida |
Order: | Osmundales |
Family: | Osmundaceae |
Genus: | Osmunda L. |
Type species | |
Osmunda regalis | |
Species | |
See text | |
Synonyms | |
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Osmunda is a genus of primarily temperate-zone ferns of family Osmundaceae. Five to ten species have been listed for this genus.
Completely dimorphic fronds or pinnae (hemidimorphic), green photosynthetic sterile fronds, and non-photosynthetic spore-bearing fertile pinnae, with large, naked sporangia. Because of the large mass of sporangia that ripen uniformly at the same time to a showy golden color, the ferns look as if they are in flower, and so this genus is sometimes called the "flowering ferns".
Osmunda, the type genus of the fern order, Osmundales has historically been the largest genus in the family Osmundaceae. Smith et al. (2006), who carried out the first higher-level pteridophyte classification published in the molecular phylogenetic era, described three genera in that family, namely Osmunda, Leptopteris , and Todea . [1] The genus has also been treated historically as consisting of a number of subgroups, generally subgenera, Osmunda (3 species), Osmundastrum (2 species), and Plenasium (3–4 species). However, there was suspicion that the genus was not monophyletic. [2]
The publication of a detailed phylogeny of the family by Metzgar et al. in 2008 showed that Osmunda as circumscribed was paraphyletic and that Osmunda cinnamomea , despite its morphological similarity to Osmunda claytoniana , was sister to the rest of the family, and resurrected the segregate genus Osmundastrum, by elevating it from subgenus, to contain it and render Osmunda monophyletic. The phylogeny of Osmunda is shown in the following cladograms.
External phylogeny [2] | Internal phylogeny [3] [4] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A number of authors have proposed elevating the subgenera to separate genus level, [2] In 2016 the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group (PPG) classification split Osmunda further by elevating its subgenera to genera as Claytosmunda and Plenasium, leaving only the species originally included in subgenus Osmunda. [5]
The derivation of the genus name is uncertain. A common theory is that Osmunda derives from Osmunder, a Saxon name for the god Thor. [8] Other explanations propose that it is from Middle English and Middle French words for a type of fern, or mention an English folk tale of a boatman named Osmund hiding his wife and children in a patch of royal fern during the Danish invasion.[ citation needed ]
Osmunda species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the engrailed.
One of the species, the cinnamon fern (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum) forms huge clonal colonies in swamp areas. These ferns form massive rootstocks with densely matted, wiry roots. This root mass is an excellent substrate for many epiphytal plants. They are often harvested as osmundine and used horticulturally, especially in propagating and growing orchids.
Thelypteridaceae is a family of about 900 species of ferns in the order Polypodiales. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016, it is placed in the suborder Aspleniineae. Alternatively, the family may be submerged in a very broadly defined family Aspleniaceae as the subfamily Thelypteridoideae.
Osmundaceae is a family of ferns containing four to six extant genera and 18–25 known species. It is the only living family of the order Osmundales in the class Polypodiopsida (ferns) or in some classifications the only order in the class Osmundopsida. This is an ancient and fairly isolated group that is often known as the "flowering ferns" because of the striking aspect of the ripe sporangia in Claytosmunda, Osmunda, Osmundastrum, and Plensium. In these genera the sporangia are borne naked on non-laminar pinnules, while Todea and Leptopteris bear sporangia naked on laminar pinnules. Ferns in this family are larger than most other ferns.
Equisetales is an order of subclass Equisetidae with only one living family, Equisetaceae, containing the genus Equisetum (horsetails).
The order Salviniales is an order of ferns in the class Polypodiopsida.
Gleicheniales is an order of ferns in the subclass Polypodiidae. The Gleicheniales have records potentially as early as the Carboniferous, but the oldest unambiguous records date to the Permian.
The Dryopteridaceae are a family of leptosporangiate ferns in the order Polypodiales. They are known colloquially as the wood ferns. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), the family is placed in the suborder Polypodiineae. Alternatively, it may be treated as the subfamily Dryopteridoideae of a very broadly defined family Polypodiaceae sensu lato.
The order Cyatheales, which includes most tree ferns, is a taxonomic order of the fern class, Polypodiopsida. No clear morphological features characterize all of the Cyatheales, but DNA sequence data indicate the order is monophyletic. Some species in the Cyatheales have tree-like growth forms from a vertical rhizome, others have shorter or horizontal expanding rhizomes.
The order Polypodiales encompasses the major lineages of polypod ferns, which comprise more than 80% of today's fern species. They are found in many parts of the world including tropical, semitropical and temperate areas.
A pteridophyte is a vascular plant that disperses spores. Because pteridophytes produce neither flowers nor seeds, they are sometimes referred to as "cryptogams", meaning that their means of reproduction is hidden.
Blechnaceae is a family of ferns in the order Polypodiales, with a cosmopolitan distribution. Its status as a family and the number of genera included have both varied considerably. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016, the family has 24 genera, and excludes genera placed in the separate family Onocleaceae. The family is divided into three subfamilies, including Blechnoideae s.s. Alternatively, the entire family may be treated as the subfamily Blechnoideae s.l. of a very broadly defined family Aspleniaceae, and include genera others place in Onocleaceae.
Pteridaceae is a family of ferns in the order Polypodiales, including some 1150 known species in ca 45 genera, divided over five subfamilies. The family includes four groups of genera that are sometimes recognized as separate families: the adiantoid, cheilanthoid, pteridoid, and hemionitidoid ferns. Relationships among these groups remain unclear, and although some recent genetic analyses of the Pteridales suggest that neither the family Pteridaceae nor the major groups within it are all monophyletic, as yet these analyses are insufficiently comprehensive and robust to provide good support for a revision of the order at the family level.
Eusporangiate ferns are vascular spore plants, whose sporangia arise from several epidermal cells and not from a single cell as in leptosporangiate ferns. Typically these ferns have reduced root systems and sporangia that produce large amounts of spores.
The Lomariopsidaceae is a family of ferns with a largely tropical distribution. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), the family is placed in the suborder Polypodiineae of the order Polypodiales. Alternatively, it may be treated as the subfamily Lomariopsidoideae of a very broadly defined family Polypodiaceae sensu lato.
Saccolomataceae is a family of ferns in the order Polypodiales with about 19 species. It has been formerly treated as part of the Dennstaedtiaceae, however it has been classified as its own family according to Smith et al. (2006) The genus Saccoloma has been classified to include Orthiopteris, but the phylogeny of the group not yet fully understood. The family includes a dozen known species.
Rhachidosorus is a genus of ferns in the order Polypodiales. It is the only genus in the family Rhachidosoraceae in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016. Alternatively, the genus may be placed in the subfamily Rhachidosoroideae of a more broadly defined family Aspleniaceae, the family placement used in Plants of the World Online as of November 2019.
Vittarioideae is a subfamily of the fern family Pteridaceae, in the order Polypodiales. The subfamily includes the previous families Adiantaceae and Vittariaceae.
Cryptogrammoideae is a subfamily of ferns in the family Pteridaceae. The subfamily contains three genera and about 23 species.
Cheilanthoideae is one of the five subfamilies of the fern family Pteridaceae. The subfamily is thought to be monophyletic, but some of the genera into which it has been divided are not, and the taxonomic status of many of its genera and species remains uncertain, with radically different approaches in use as of December 2019.
Ophioglossidae is one of the four subclasses of Polypodiopsida (ferns). This subclass consists of the ferns commonly known as whisk ferns, grape ferns, adder's-tongues and moonworts. It is equivalent to the class Psilotopsida in previous treatments, including Smith et al. (2006). The subclass contains two orders, Psilotales and Ophioglossales, whose relationship was only confirmed by molecular phylogenetic studies.
Lindsaeineae is a suborder of ferns (Polypodiopsida), order Polypodiales, created by the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group (2016). It consists of two monogeneric families plus the larger Lindsaeaceae with seven genera, and the suborder contains about 237 species overall. It corresponds to Lindsaeaceae sensu Smith 2016.