Polypodiaceae
Read about Polypodiaceae in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
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Polypodiaceae (from the genus Polypodium, signifying many feet, in allusion to the branched rootstock of some species). Polypody Family. Ferns of very diverse habit, rarely arborescent: leaves of normal texture, entire or pinnatifid or multisect, circinate; veins forking: sori mostly on the under side of the leaf; indusium peltate, fringed, capillary, cupular, elongated, unilateral or wanting: sporangia thin-walled, long- or short-stalked; annulus vertical, interrupted by the pedicel; dehiscence transverse: prothallium thalloid, green, growing upon the surface of the soil, mostly bisexual. Polypodiaceae has more than 100 genera and about 4,000 species of wide distribution; especially abundant in humid regions and in forests. The largest genera are: Dryopteris (or Aspidium), 450 species; Polypodium, 500 sp.; Asplenium, 150-200 sp.; Elaphoglossum, 80-100 sp.; Adiantum, 80 sp.; and Pteris, Blechnum, Polystichum and Aspidium about 50-70 species each. The family is most closely related to the Cyatheaceae. The presence of sori, the thin-walled sporangium with vertical interrupted annulus and transverse dehiscence are distinctive. This comprises the larger number of ferns, and is often called the Fern Family. Some of the most striking variants are the walking-leaf fern with undivided lanceolate leaves which take root at the apex and repeat the process several times, all the plantlets remaining for a time connected; the hart's-tongue fern with broadly lanceolate-oblong, entire frond; the epiphytic staghorn fern with erect, forked, fertile fronds and orbicular entire, sterile fronds closely imbricated over the short stem and support. In many species the fertile and sterile fronds are dimorphic. The stems of some species are slender and climbing; others long, slender and creeping; some are very stout and erect (tree ferns). The ferns are of little economic importance except as ornamental plants. The starchy rootstocks of some species are eaten locally, as are also the young shoots. The rootstock of Dryopteris (Aspidium) Filix-mas is a reputed vermifuge. About 60 species are in cultivation in America. Among these are: Adiantum (Maidenhair Fern); Aspidium (Shield F.); Asplenium (Spleenwort) ; Camptosorus (Walking-leaf F.); Dennstaedtia (Dicksonia) (Fragrant F.); Onoclea (Sensitive F., Ostrich F.); Pellaea (Cliff Brake); Phegopteris (Beech F.); Platycerium (Staghorn F.); Polypodium (Polypody F.); Polystichum (Holly F., Christmas F.); Pteris (Common Brake); Scolopendrium (Hart's-tongue F.). CH
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References
- Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
External links
- w:Polypodiaceae. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
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