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Ferns and relatives / Helechos y afines
Actinostachys pennula (Sw.) Hook.
EOL Text
Small individuals of Actinostachys pennula have sometimes been called A . germanii , but plants conforming to A . germanii are merely at the end of a morphological series; they are probably juvenile. Each juvenile has a large bulbous gametophyte remaining attached (a so-called "tuber") that is sometimes mistaken for the stem. Not only is the persistent gametophyte mistaken for a stem, but in the large forms of typical A . pennula the stem is not a solitary structure. Instead it resembles a compact, intergrown bush, made up of numerous tiny, narrow stems, usually less than 1 mm diam., that proliferate from old leaf bases---a type of cauline organization apparently unknown in any other living fern but possibly found in the fossil genus Tempskya . Measurements for plants in the North American flora are all in the lower parts of the range for the species. Actinostachys pennula is among North America's most unusual ferns, a highly treasured species, sought by field botanists who must, however, respect its rarity.
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Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=233500025 |
Comments: Synonym of Schizaea pennula (Proctor 1989, Ferns of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands). Schizaea germanii (= Actinostachys germanii) was once treated as distinct from A. pennula, however, Kartesz 1999 and Wunderlin 1998 (Flora of Florida) treat it as part of A. pennula.
United States
Origin: Native
Regularity: Regularly occurring
Currently: Present
Confidence: Confident
Global Range: Historical records from Dade, Palm Beach, and Pinellas Cos., apparently now extant only in Palm Beach County, Florida (Wunderlin 1998). Also occurs in Puerto Rico, Guadeloupe, Trinidad, and continental tropical America from Mexico and Costa Rica to Uruguay (Proctor 1989).
Plants extremely variable in size, 5--50 cm, those in leaf mold (only form known in flora) usually small, those in open sunny areas much larger. Leaves 1--60; rays 1--12, 4--40 mm; petioles 0.5--2 cm. 2 n = 168 (Trinidad).
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=233500025 |
Schizaea pennula Swartz, Syn. Fil., 150, 379. 1806; Actinostachys germanii Fée; Schizaea germanii (Fée) Prantl
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=233500025 |
Comments: Wet, rich soil under saw palmetto & gallberry; rotten stumps & trunks of red bay; litter of red bay & dahoon islands.
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 1
Specimens with Barcodes: 1
Species With Barcodes: 1
United States
Rounded National Status Rank: N1 - Critically Imperiled