Blechnum, known as hard fern, is a genus of ferns in the family Blechnaceae, subfamily Blechnoideae, according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016. Two very different circumscriptions of the genus are used by different authors. In the PPG I system, based on Gasper et al. (2016), Blechnum is one of 18 genera in the subfamily Blechnoideae, and has about 30 species. Other sources use a very broadly defined Blechnum s.l., including accepting only two other genera in the subfamily. The genus then has about 250 species. In the PPG I circumscription, the genus is mostly neotropical, with a few southern African species.
Parablechnum monomorphum, synonym Blechnum monomorphum is a species of fern in the family Blechnaceae. It is native to Colombia (Antioquia), Ecuador and Bolivia.
Blechnum sociale is a species of fern in the family Blechnaceae. It is endemic to Pichincha Province and Azuay Province, Ecuador, but has not been recorded since 1893. The name sociale indicates that they form in colonies. It was first described by Sodiro in 1883. In 1893, Sodiro transferred it to Lomaria as Lomaria socialis. He said that the most similar species was Lomaria stipitellata, now placed in Parablechnum as Parablechnum stipitellatum. The status and taxonomy of Blechnum sociale was unclear as of 2003.
Struthiopteris spicant, syn. Blechnum spicant, is a species of fern in the family Blechnaceae, known by the common names hard-fern or deer fern. It is native to Europe, western Asia, northern Africa, and western North America. Like some other species in the family Blechnaceae, it has two types of leaves. The sterile leaves have flat, wavy-margined leaflets 5 to 8 millimeters wide, while the fertile leaves have much narrower leaflets, each with two thick rows of sori on the underside.
Neoblechnum is a genus of ferns in the family Blechnaceae, subfamily Blechnoideae, with a single species Neoblechnum brasiliense, according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016. The genus is accepted in a 2016 classification of the family Blechnaceae, but other sources sink it into a very broadly defined Blechnum, equivalent to the whole of the PPG I subfamily; the species is then known as Blechnum brasiliense. It is called Brazilian dwarf tree fern, red Brazilian tree fern, and red dwarf tree fern.
Cranfillia fluviatilis, synonym Blechnum fluviatile, is a fern known in the Māori language as kiwikiwi. A herbaceous plant, C. fluviatilis is a "hard fern" of the genus Cranfillia in the family Blechnaceae. It was identified by Patrick Brownsey in 1979. Other common names are star fern, creek fern, kawakawa and kiwakiwa.
Parablechnum cordatum, the Chilean hard fern or costilla de vaca, is a fern of the family Blechnaceae, native to Chile. It is also found in neighboring areas of Argentina and the Juan Fernández Islands.
Lomaria discolor, synonym Blechnum discolor, commonly called crown fern, is a species of fern in the family Blechnaceae. This species is endemic to New Zealand. As noted by C. Michael Hogan, this species is found in a number of forest communities in diverse locations within New Zealand, and is sometimes a dominant understory component.
Asplenium flaccidum is a species of fern in the family Aspleniaceae. The plant common name is drooping spleenwort or weeping spleenwort, and the species name flaccidum derives from the Latin root meaning drooping. An example occurrence of A. flaccidum is within a Nothofagus-Podocarp forest at Hamilton Ecological District on New Zealand's North Island in association with other fern species understory plants, crown fern, Blechnum discolor being an example.
Austroblechnum lanceolatum, synonym Blechnum chambersii, is a species of fern within the family Blechnaceae, found in Australia, New Zealand, Samoa and Fiji.
Austroblechnum penna-marina, synonym Blechnum penna-marina, known as Antarctic hard-fern, alpine water fern and pinque, is a species of fern in the family Blechnaceae, with a natural range from the Araucanía Region to the south and from the coast to the tree line of the Magellanic forests in Chile and adjacent areas of Argentina. It is also found in New Zealand, Australia and some Pacific islands. It is evergreen and grows to 20 cm (8 in).
Oceaniopteris gibba, the miniature tree fern, is a tropical species of fern in the family Blechnaceae, native to Fiji. It has received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Struthiopteris is a genus of ferns belonging to the family Blechnaceae, subfamily Blechnoideae.
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.
Asplenium appendiculatum, ground spleenwort, is a common native fern to Australia and New Zealand. It usually grows in cool damp conditions, among rocks, on logs or as an epiphyte.
Diploblechnum fraseri, synonym Blechnum fraseri, known commonly as the miniature tree fern and by its Māori name maukurangi, is a species of fern in the family Blechnaceae native to New Zealand, Malesia and Taiwan.
Icarus is a genus of ferns in the family Blechnaceae, subfamily Blechnoideae, with a single species Icarus filiformis, according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016. The genus is accepted in a 2016 classification of the family Blechnaceae, but other sources sink it into a very broadly defined Blechnum, equivalent to the whole of the PPG I subfamily.
Blechnum occidentale is a fern in the family Blechnaceae. Its native range is from Mexico through Central America and the Caribbean to tropical South America.
Austroblechnum lehmannii is a species of fern in the family Blechnaceae. It is native to Mexico, Central America, South America and the Galápagos Islands.
Cyrtandra heinrichii, known as ha'iwale or lava cyrtandra, is a perennial flowering plant in the family Gesneriaceae. It is found on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.
