| Osmunda spectabilis | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Division: | Polypodiophyta |
| Class: | Polypodiopsida |
| Order: | Osmundales |
| Family: | Osmundaceae |
| Genus: | Osmunda |
| Species: | O. spectabilis |
| Binomial name | |
| Osmunda spectabilis | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
List
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Osmunda spectabilis, known as American royal fern, is a species of fern native to a large area of the New World, from the eastern half of Canada and the United States to Argentina. [2] [3]
Osmunda spectabilis is an easy fern to recognize in the New World flora. Although it closely resembles species O. regalis , O. japonica , and O. lancea , only O. spectabilis is found growing naturally in the New World. The fronds of O. spectabilis can exceed 1 meter in length and are bipinnate. The pinnules are attached by a very narrow base. The plant produces separate sterile and fertile fronds. Fertile fronds are similar to the sterile fronds, in the lower and middle portions, but the top-most pinnae are fertile and they are much reduced and brown when mature in the early summer. [4]
American royal fern is most commonly found growing in wetter soils such as those found in wet forests, bogs, and along streams and lakes. [5]
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Osmunda spectabilis was formerly considered to be a variety of Osmunda regalis (Osmunda regalis var. spectabilis). Another variety, Osmunda spectabilis var. brasiliensis, (formerly Osmunda regalis var. brasiliensis) also exists in tropical regions of Central and South America, but it is only recognized by some authors.
Osmunda angustifolia , Osmunda bromeliifolia , and all extinct Osmunda species are missing from this cladogram. The classification is based on the genetic analysis presented in "The Paraphyly of Osmunda is Confirmed by Phylogenetic Analyses of Seven Plastid Loci." [6]
The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta 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.
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.
A frond is a large, divided leaf. In both common usage and botanical nomenclature, the leaves of ferns are referred to as fronds and some botanists restrict the term to this group. Other botanists allow the term frond to also apply to the large leaves of cycads, as well as palms (Arecaceae) and various other flowering plants, such as mimosa or sumac. "Frond" is commonly used to identify a large, compound leaf, but if the term is used botanically to refer to the leaves of ferns and algae it may be applied to smaller and undivided leaves.
Osmunda is a genus of primarily temperate-zone ferns of family Osmundaceae. Five to ten species have been listed for this genus.
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 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.
Onoclea sensibilis, the sensitive fern, also known as the bead fern, is a coarse-textured, medium to large-sized deciduous perennial fern. The name comes from its sensitivity to frost, the fronds dying quickly when first touched by it. It is sometimes treated as the only species in Onoclea, but some authors do not consider the genus monotypic.
Claytosmunda is a genus of fern. It has only one extant species, Claytosmunda claytoniana, the interrupted fern, native to Eastern Asia, Eastern United States, and Eastern Canada.
Osmunda regalis, or royal fern, is a species of deciduous fern, native to Europe, Africa and Asia, growing in woodland bogs and on the banks of streams. The species is sometimes known as flowering fern due to the appearance of its fertile fronds.
Osmundastrum is genus of leptosporangiate ferns in the family Osmundaceae with one living species, Osmundastrum cinnamomeum, the cinnamon fern. It is native to the Americas and eastern Asia, growing in swamps, bogs and moist woodlands.
Osmunda japonica, also called Asian royal fern, is a fern in the genus Osmunda native to east Asia, including Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan, and the far east of Russia on the island of Sakhalin. It is called gobi in Korean, zenmai in Japanese, and zǐqí or juécài in Chinese.
Frond dimorphism refers to a difference in ferns between the fertile and sterile fronds. Since ferns, unlike flowering plants, bear spores on the leaf blade itself, this may affect the form of the frond itself. In some species of ferns, there is virtually no difference between the fertile and sterile fronds, such as in the genus Dryopteris, other than the mere presence of the sori, or fruit-dots, on the back of the fronds. Some other species, such as Polystichum acrostichoides, or some ferns of the genus Osmunda, feature dimorphism on a portion of the frond only. Others, such as some species of Blechnum and Woodwardia, have fertile fronds that are markedly taller than the sterile. Still others, such as Osmunda cinnamomea, or plants of the family Onocleaceae, have fertile fronds that are completely different from the sterile.
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.
Parablechnum wattsii, synonym Blechnum wattsii, is a common terrestrial fern growing in rainforest and open forest. It is often seen near creeks in much of south eastern Australia, including Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland. The specific epithet wattsii honours William Walter Watts (1856-1920). Watts was considered an authority on mosses and ferns and has more than 30 species named for him. Common names by which the species may be called are hard water fern - from its stiff leathery fronds, leech fern - as forest workers often encounter leaches while working in clusters of these ferns, hard hill fern - from the fern's habit and habitat, and red cabbage fern - from the bronze-pink colour of the young fronds resembling cooked red cabbage.
Lomaria nuda, commonly known as the fishbone waterfern, is a fern that grows up to a metre tall, and is abundant in rainforest and eucalyptus forests in eastern Australia. The species is placed in the genus Lomaria in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016, but is often retained in genus Blechnum as Blechnum nudum.
Sceptridium dissectum is a common fern in the family Ophioglossaceae, occurring in eastern North America. Like other plants in this group, it normally only sends up one frond per year. It has long been the subject of confusion because the frond presents in one of two forms, either the normal form that resembles other plants in the genus, or the skeletonized form.
Plenasium banksiifolium is a fern in the family Osmundaceae. The genus Plenasium is recognized in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I); however, some sources place all Plenasium species in a more broadly defined Osmunda, treating this species as Osmunda banksiifolia. It is native along the Pacific coast of Asia, being found in the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, southeast China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Borneo, Sulawesi and Java. P. banksiifolium, which can reach a height of 1.5 m, is the largest species in the genus and has ornamental value.
Plenasium javanicum is a fern in the family Osmundaceae. The genus Plenasium is recognized in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I); however, some sources place all Plenasium species in a more broadly defined Osmunda, treating this species as Osmunda javanica. It has a wide native distribution in south-eastern Asia, being found in the Eastern Himalaya, south-central and south east China, Indochina, the Philippines, Borneo, Sumatra, Sulawesi and Java.
Osmunda × ruggii is a sterile hybrid between Osmundastrum claytonianum and Osmunda regalis var. spectabilis.
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.
