Ferns
February 12, 2008
Dicranopteris linearis
Thank you again to Krystyna Szulecka for sharing another of her excellent photographs (posted in this thread in the BPotD submissions forum). If you like, see more of Krystyna's images by searching for “Krystyna” on the FLPA web site.
Given its distribution, it's doubtless that Dicranopteris linearis has dozens of common names. Four names frequently used are Uluhe fern, climbing fern, false staghorn and Old World forked fern. According to GRIN, it can be found in tropical and subtropical areas throughout the Old World. That left me puzzled for a bit, as Plants of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park lists it as indigenous and the USDA PLANTS database displays it as native to Hawaii The mystery was partially resolved when I looked at GRIN's entry for Dicranopteris linearis f. marginata, noted to be found in Hawaii. So, it appears to be a small oversight that Hawaii isn't included in the broader distribution list.
The Plants of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park has a photograph clearly illustrating the reason for one of the common names, climbing fern. More photographs, particularly with respect to propagation, are available in the PDF suggested by Krystyna: The Propagation and Production of Uluhe Fern (Dicranopteris linearis) for Potential Use as a Restoration Species (a presentation given to the International Plant Propagators' Society).
The New South Wales Flora Online provides a small scientific description of the species.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 9:43 AM| Comments (4)
November 11, 2007
Sadleria cyatheoides
First-time contributor Dana Cromie (a UBC BG Friend of the Garden) has shared today's image from a visit to Hawaii (original | BPotD Flickr Group Pool). Thank you, Dana!
I've decided to post the photograph from what I believe to be accurate orientation as well as the flip; a visit to the image on Flickr will also show it in a horizontal perspective. The strong lines of the image gave me a few minutes of enjoyment as I examined the photo in different orientations, so that was my reason for posting it like this.
Commonly known as amau or ‘ama‘u in Hawaiian (and sometimes known as rasp fern), Sadleria cyatheoides is an endemic to the archipelago. It is a plant of wet habitats that can be found from near sea-level to 2135m (7000 ft.). For a small factsheet about the plant, visit Plants of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Many more photographs are available from the Plants of Hawaii site, Sadleria cyatheoides.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (3)
November 8, 2007
Pteridium aquilinum
Thank you to Stephen B of Scotland aka stephenbuchan@Flickr for another couple photographs shared with BPotD (original 1 | original 2 | BPotD Flickr Pool). As always, it is very much appreciated, Stephen.
Bracken fern can be found throughout most of the world. The advantage of featuring one of the most widely distributed vascular plants is that there is a wealth of information online.
On its classification: Is it one species with many subordinate taxa (i.e., subspecies and varieties)? Or is there now enough evidence to break up the one species into ten or so distinct species? The Flora of North America's entry on Pteridium aquilinum notes the “disagreement existing among taxonomists” with a summary of evidence pointing to splitting up the one species into multiples, but still opts for a single-species approach. This illustration from the Flora of North America shows the variability of form between taxa.
On edibility: The Plants for a Future database, as always, details the edibility and other economic uses, but accompanies it with a warning about potential health risks of ingestion. The Nova Scotia Museum simply labels it carcinogenic, with the suggestion that it is to be avoided. Wikipedia summarizes how bracken is used (and eaten) by several cultures.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 6:48 AM| Comments (8)
October 8, 2007
Polypodium glycyrrhiza
Peeking at the undersides of licorice fern fronds at this time of year often rewards you with a display of their orange, naked sori. The sori are clusters of sporangia, or spore-containing structures (see this illustration of the fern life cycle). The term naked is used because the sori lack a protective covering called the indusium; for comparison, here's a photograph of sori (partially) covered by indusia on Polystichum.
The epithet glycyrrhiza means sweet root and refers to the genus Glycyrrhiza, a member of the bean family. The root of Glycyrrhiza is better known as licorice (or liquorice). The rhizomes and stems of Polypodium glycyrrhiza are similarly flavoured, hence the common name of licorice fern.
Polypodium glycyrrhiza is distributed along the coastal regions of western North America, as well as the Kamchatka region of Asia. The Hardy Fern Library provides a detailed description of licorice fern.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 7:35 AM| Comments (9)
February 7, 2007
Marsilea mutica
Seventh in the series on Australian plants comes to us courtesy of Eric in SF@Flickr (original image) via the BPotD Flickr Group Pool). As always, it's appreciated, Eric.
Despite resembling plasticky four-leaf clovers, these are actually aquatic ferns. The strong resemblance, though, is reflected in some of its common names: water clover or floating water clover. It is also known as the banded nardoo.
This is a plant of ponds and riverbanks throughout most of Australia, including Tasmania. The flat, broad leaves are representative of one of the two typical leaf morphologies for aquatic plants. Large, flat leaves aid in both flotation and optimal capture of sunlight, and are often found at the water surface. The second typical aquatic leaf form of submerged, fine, narrow leaves is not observed in Marsilea (for an example of such, see Elodea)
Photographs of the plant in habitat can be seen on the New South Wales Flora Online: Marsilea mutica.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (3)
September 4, 2006
Platycerium bifurcatum
Today's image is courtesy of Van in NYC@Flickr (original image | BPotD Flickr Group Pool). Van in NYC took this tilted photograph at the Santa Barbara Zoo – it's worthwhile to note that zoos often have extensive botanical collections. Thanks again, Van in NYC!
It's a holiday Monday, so just a few links for an entry today. The Australian National Botanic Gardens provides an excellent information sheet on this New Guinea and Australian native: Growing Platycerium bifurcatum. If you're interested in some of the biology behind staghorn (or elkhorn) ferns, see: Kreier, H and Schneider, H. 2006. Phylogeny and biogeography of the staghorn fern genus Platycerium (Polypodiaceae, Polypodiidae) (abstract, if the full article isn't available). American Journal of Botany. 93:217-225.
For a humourous staghorn fern, see this BPotD submission: Staghorn Fern Bug? (thanks, toutlan!).
Photography resource link: National Geographic has a section on their web site dedicated to photography, with many photo galleries to explore if you've some time!
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (1)
August 23, 2006
Cliff at China Beach
I couldn't resist sharing today's photograph in both vertical and horizontal orientations. The correct perspective is the vertical, since this is a cliff with seeping water. Still, I imagine the horizontal image could be used to trick more than a few people.
The challenges of the vertical environment for plants include exposure to wind and sun, poor or lacking soil, nutrient availability and gravity. These factors would be studied by cliff ecologists; cliff ecology is a specialized discipline within ecology that examines and studies organisms of cliff environments and how they interact with each other and the physical environment. Never heard of cliff ecology? A book review for “Cliff Ecology: Pattern and Process in Cliff Ecosystems” explains why. Here's the lede of the review: “Question: What is vertical, predominantly rock, virtually unstudied and largely taken for granted by land managers? Answer: A cliff. Perhaps no other landscape feature has been so consistently ignored despite being pervasive and prominent across the world. Ecologists haven't studied cliffs, and land managers haven't assumed responsibility for protecting them.”.
Two of the three vascular plants I noticed growing on this particular cliff face are in this photograph: Adiantum aleuticum and Saxifraga mertensiana (I've yet to ID the third, but it is not in this image). If I had to identify the moss, I'd hazard a guess and suggest it is Hypnum subimponens (Hypnaceae). This tentative ID is based on environment (seeping cliffs), habit (mat-forming), and colouration (yellow-green new growth, brownish-green in older areas) via the description in “Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast” by Pojar & MacKinnon.
Photography / agriculture resource link: International Plant Genetic Resources Institute's Image Bank contains images on the subjects of plant and crop diversity (my favourite is this photograph of an orange-fleshed banana).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:56 AM| Comments (2)
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Botany Photo of the Day is a project of the UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research, located in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. UBC BGCPR is a department of the Faculty of Land and Food Systems within The University of British Columbia.