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Ferns and relatives / Helechos y afines
Osmunda cinnamomea L.
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AL AR CT DC FL GA IL IN KY LA
ME MD MA MI MN MS NH NJ NM NY
NC OH PA RI SC TN TX VT VA WV
WI NB NF NS ON PE PQ
More info for the terms: fern, fronds, swamp
Although fronds are probably killed by fire during the growing season,
cinnamon fern sprouts from rhizomes after the aerial portions are burned
[49,53]. Cinnamon fern has good fire tolerance and shows vigorous
rhizome growth after fire [51]. Spores germinate on mineral soil [23],
so cinnamon fern probably colonizes after fire. It grows in the open
conditions created by fire in at least part of its range [20,36,60].
Cinnamon fern occurs in the Greater Sandhills of south-central North
Carolina in Atlantic white-cedar dominated wetland corridors. The trees
in these wetlands show evidence of past fires [46]. Cinnamon fern
occurs in the Green Swamp, North Carolina, longleaf pine/wiregrass
savannahs which are maintained by frequent fire [28]. It also occurs in
fire-maintained South Carolina longleaf pine savannahs [20].
Osmundastrum cinnamomeum, the cinnamon fern, is a species of leptosporangiate fern in the family Osmundaceae. It is native to the Americas and eastern Asia, growing in swamps, bogs and moist woodlands.
In North America it occurs from southern Labrador west to Ontario, and south through the eastern United States to eastern Mexico and the West Indies; in South America it occurs west to Peru and south to Paraguay. In Asia it occurs from southeastern Siberia south through Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan to Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
Characteristics[edit]
Osmundastrum cinnamomeum is a deciduous herbaceous plant which produces separate fertile and sterile fronds. The sterile fronds are spreading, 30-150 cm (1-5 ft) tall and 15-20 cm (6-8 in) broad, pinnate, with pinnae 5-10 cm (2-4 in) long and 2-2.5 cm (.75-1 in) broad, deeply lobed (so the fronds are nearly, but not quite, bipinnate). The fertile spore-bearing fronds are erect and shorter, 20-45 cm (8-17.75 in) tall; they become cinnamon-colored, which gives the species its name. The fertile leaves appear first; their green color slowly becomes brown as the season progresses and the spores are dropped. The spore-bearing stems persist after the sterile fronds are killed by frost, until the next season. The spores must develop within a few weeks or fail.
The Osmundastrum cinnamomeum fern forms huge clonal colonies in swampy 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 osmunda fiber and used horticulturally, especially in propagating and growing orchids. Cinnamon Ferns do not actually produce cinnamon; they are named for the color of the fertile fronds.
Classification[edit]
Traditionally, this plant has been classified as Osmunda cinnamomea L.. However, recent genetic and morphological evidence (Metzgar et al. 2008; Jud et al. 2008) clearly demonstrate that the cinnamon fern is a sister species to the entire rest of the living Osmundaceae. Cladistically, it is either necessary then to include all species of the Osmundaceae, including Todea and Leptopteris in the genus Osmunda, or else it is necessary to segregate the genus Osmundastrum. O. cinnamomeum is the sole living species in the genus,[1] although it is possible that some additional fossils should be assigned to Osmundastrum.[2]
Formerly, some authors included the interrupted fern, Osmunda claytoniana, in the genus or section Osmundastrum, because of its gross apparent morphological similarities. However, detailed morphology and genetic analysis have proven that the interrupted fern is actually a true Osmunda. This is borne out by the fact that it is known to hybridize with the American royal fern, Osmunda spectabilis to produce Osmunda × ruggii in a family in which hybrids are rare, while Osmundastrum cinnamomeum has no known hybrids.
Osmundastrum cinnamomeum is considered a living fossil because it has been identified in the geologic record as far back as 75 million years ago.[2] A more recent discovery extends this value up to 180 million years ago.[3]
The Asian and American populations of cinnamon fern are generally considered to be varieties of a single species, but some botanists classify them as separate species.[1] The Asian taxon is thus named Osmundastrum asiaticum.
References[edit]
- ^ a b Alan S. Weakley (April 2008). "Flora of the Carolinas, Virginia, and Georgia, and Surrounding Areas".
- ^ a b Jud, Nathan, Gar W. Rothwell, and Ruth A. Stockey (2008). "Todea from the Lower Cretaceous of western North America: implications for the phylogeny, systematics, and evolution of modern Osmundaceae". American Journal of Botany 95 (3): 330–339. doi:10.3732/ajb.95.3.330. PMID 21632358.
- ^ http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25269-lava-fossilised-this-jurassic-fern-down-to-its-cells.html
Further reading[edit]
- Metzgar, Jordan S., Judith E. Skog, Elizabeth A. Zimmer, and Kathleen M. Pryer (2008). "The Paraphyly of Osmunda is Confirmed by Phylogenetic Analyses of Seven Plastid Loci." Systematic Botany, 33(1): pp. 31–36.
- Serbet, Rudolf, and Gar W. Rothwell (1999). "Osmunda cinnamomea (Osmundaceae) in the Upper Cretaceous of western North America: Additional evidence for exceptional species longevity among filicalean ferns." International Journal of Plant Sciences, 160: 425-433.
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St. Pierre and Miquelon; N.B., Nfld., N.S., Ont., P.E.I., Que.; Ala., Ark., Conn., Del., Fla., Ga., Ill., Ind., Iowa, Ky., La., Maine, Md., Mass., Mich., Minn., Miss., Mo., N.H., N.J., N.Y., N.C., Ohio, Okla., Pa., R.I., S.C., Tenn., Tex., Vt., Va., W.Va., Wis.; Mexico; West Indies; Central America; South America; Asia.
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More info on this topic.
More info for the terms: bog, fern, natural, shrubs
Facultative Seral Species
Cinnamon fern is considered a late seral species in the bog seres of the
northern United States and Laurentian Canada, but may not persist to
climax stages [10]. In the Adirondack upland flora cinnamon fern is
intolerant to midtolerant of shade [32]. Cinnamon fern in west
Louisiana occurs in bogs that are mostly open, with a few scattered
trees and shrubs [36]. However, cinnamon fern occurs in heavy shade
under a closed canopy along the Gulf Coast of Florida [57]. It also
occurs under shade in Atlantic white-cedar wetlands in New Jersey [13]
and in baldcypress (Taxodium distichum) swamps in eastern Maryland [4].
Cinnamon fern in a southern Ontario bog was subjected to disturbance by
peat mining which removed all vegetation and up to 6.6 feet (2 m) of
peat. The mined areas had been abandoned to natural, unassisted
regeneration for 1, 6, 10, and 24 years. Cinnamon fern occurred in all
disturbance classes, but did not occur in the undisturbed control site
[25].
Many forms of Osmunda cinnamomea have been described from within the flora area. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental.
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Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=200002992 |
Leaves pinnate-pinnatifid; petioles slightly shorter than blades, not winged, with light brown hairs when young, glabrate with age. Sterile leaves ovate to lanceolate, ca. 0.3--1.5 m; pinnae broadly oblong with persistent tuft of hairs on abaxial surface at base; ultimate segments with base obtuse, margins entire, apex usually mucronate. Fertile leaves with no expanded pinnae, green, becoming brownish, shorter and narrower than sterile leaves, withering after sporulation. Sporangia brown. 2 n =44.
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More info for the term: fern
Cinnamon fern spores have very short viability after release from the
sporophyte. They either fail to germinate or germinate poorly after
just a few weeks [42]. Under controlled conditions, spores germinate at
high percentages at 41 degrees Fahrenheit (5 deg C), and they also
germinate at higher temperatures [23].
One study showed that cinnamon fern sporophytes allelopathically
inhibited germination of cinnamon fern spores [59]. Another study did
not demonstrate this effect [48].
Comments: now considered as Osmundastrum cinnamomeum (Linnaeus) C. Presl.
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Osmunda cinnamomea var. glandulosa Waters
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Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=200002992 |