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Polypodium virginianum

(Common Polypody)

Overview

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Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in English:

Common Polypody, American Wall Fern, Rock Polypody

Common Names in French:

Polypode De Virginie, Tripes-De-Roches

Description

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Family Polypodiaceae

Plants perennial , terrestrial , on rock, or often epiphytic, erect , arching , or occasionally pendent. Stems long- to short-creeping, branched or not, bearing scales and few to numerous roots , usually dictyostelic. Leaves monomorphic to dimorphic , circinate in bud. Petiole usually articulate at base [rarely nonarticulate , as in Loxogramme ], lacking scales or sometimes scaly , with usually 3 vascular bundles . Blade simple to often pinnatifid , pinnatisect , or pinnate, infrequently more divided ; rachis grooved or not adaxially. Veins free (and simple to several times forked ) to often anastomosing in complex systems , areoles with or without included veinlets . Indument on blade absent, or petiole, rachis, costae, and sometimes blade tissue usually bearing hairs (these often septate and with reddish crosswalls) and/or scales. Sori borne abaxially on veins, round to oblong , occasionally elongate , rarely marginal , rarely covering surface; paraphyses present or absent; sporangia with stalk of 2 or 3 rows of cells ; indusia absent. Spores usually transparent or yellowish (rarely greenish), all 1 kind, bilateral , monolete [rarely trilete, as in some Loxogramme], surface most often smooth , tuberculate , verrucose , or granulate , occasionally spiny , 64 per sporangium (spores globose and 32 per sporangium in apogamous spp. ) . Gametophytes green, aboveground, cordate or elliptic , glabrous or sometimes glandular ; archegonia and antheridia borne on lower surface, antheridia 3-celled.

Genera ca. 40, species perhaps 500 (7 genera, 25 species in the flora ) : worldwide, especially tropics and subtropics.

Genera in this family are variously circumscribed, and the New World species historically were placed in the single genus Polypodium . Many of the segregates recognized here are still placed in Polypodium in recent floristic accounts. Limits of genera in both Old World and New World are controversial and are currently under study by several workers.[1]

Genus Polypodium

Plants on rock, occasionally terrestrial or epiphytic. Stems creeping , usually branched, 3--15 mm diam., sometimes whitish pruinose ; scales concolored to bicolored , lanceolate to ovate-acuminate, not clathrate to strongly clathrate, glabrous , margins entire to denticulate . Leaves monomorphic , closely spaced to distant , not conspicuously narrowed at tip , to 90 cm. Petiole articulate to stem, straw-colored, somewhat flattened or grooved to nearly terete , winged distally. Blade broadly ovate to deltate, pinnatifid to 1-pinnate at base , not pectinate , usually with fewer than 25 pairs of pinnae, not glaucous or conspicuously scaly ; rachis sparsely scaly to glabrescent abaxially, puberulent to glabrous adaxially; scales ovate-lanceolate to linear , not peltate or clathrate. Segments linear to oblong ; margins entire to serrate; apex rounded to attenuate. Venation free to anastomosing, if strongly anastomosing, then never with more than 1 included veinlet in fertile areoles. Sori often confined to distal region of leaf, discrete, circular to oval when immature , borne at tips of single veins, in 1--3 rows on either side of midrib ; indument absent or of modified sporangia (sporangiasters), often bearing glandular hairs on bulbous head . Spores monolete, rugose to tuberculate . x = 37.

Species ca. 100: worldwide.

Some species traditionally included in Polypodium are treated here in other genera, for example, Pleopeltis and Pecluma.

Except for the tropical species Polypodium triseriale, North American Polypodium is a complex assemblage of interactive species. The North American species have ties to European taxa (e.g. , P . vulgare sensu stricto , which probably originated by allopolyploidy between P . glycyrrhiza and P . sibiricum ) but are quite distinct from them. Morphologic comparisons and continuing biochemical and molecular studies indicate that two groups of diploid species occur within the North American P . vulgare complex. One group includes P . glycyrrhiza and P . californicum ; the second, P . amorphum, P . appalachianum, and P . sibiricum . Allopolyploid species have originated following hybridizations within a species group (i.e. , P . calirhiza from P . glycyrrhiza × californicum, P . saximontanum from P . amorphum × sibiricum, and P . virginianum from P . appalachianum × sibiricum ) as well as between members of the two groups (i.e., P . hesperium from P . amorphum × glycyrrhiza ) . These reticulate relationships are summarized in the reticulogram. We consider P . scouleri to be peripheral to the "core" diploids even though hybrids have been reported.[2]

Physical Description

Species Polypodium virginianum

Stems often whitish pruinose , slender, to 6 mm diam., acrid-tasting; scales weakly bicolored , lanceolate, contorted distally, base and margins light brown, sometimes with dark central stripe, margins denticulate . Leaves to 40 cm. Petiole slender, to 2 mm diam. Blade oblong to narrowly lanceolate, pinnatifid , usually widest near middle , occasionally at or near base, to 7 cm wide, somewhat leathery; rachis sparsely scaly to glabrescent abaxially, glabrous adaxially; scales lanceolate-ovate, usually more than 6 cells wide. Segments oblong, less than 8 mm wide; margins entire to crenulate ; apex rounded to broadly acute; midrib glabrous adaxially. Venation free . Sori midway between margin and midrib to nearly marginal , less than 3 mm diam., circular when immature . Sporangiasters present, usually less than 40 per sorus, heads covered with glandular hairs . Spores more than 52 µm, tuberculate , surface projections more than 3 µm tall. 2 n = 148. Sporulating summer--fall. [source]

Traditionally, two cytotypes have been recognized within Polypodium virginianum (I. Manton and M. Shivas 1953). Recent research has demonstrated that the tetraploid cytotype, which properly bears the name P. virginianum (R. Cranfill and D. M. Britton 1983), is an allopolyploid produced by hybridization between the diploid cytotype (here called P. appalachianum ) and P. sibiricum (C. H. Haufler and M. D. Windham 1991; C. H. Haufler and Wang Z. R. 1991). Although sometimes similar to its diploid parents in overall leaf morphology, P. virginianum has consistently larger spores, typically more than 52 µm (see additional comments under P. appalachianum and P. sibiricum ). Frequent hybridizations between P. virginianum and P. appalachianum form morphologically intermediate, triploid individuals with misshapen spores. Sterile triploids also result from hybridization between P. virginianum and P. sibiricum. [source]

Habit: Forb/herb

Flowers: Bloom Period: n/a • Flower Color: inconspicuous, none

Size/Age/Growth

Size: 6-12" tall.

Habitat

Cliffs and rocky slopes ; on a variety of substrates; 0--1800 m (Ref. 102949).

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 2,500 meters (0 to 8,202 feet).[3]

Biology

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Reproduction

Duration: Perennial

Growth

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Partial to Full Shade.

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b. (map)

Taxonomy

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Synonyms

P. vulgare Linnaeus Var. americanum Hooker • P. vulgare var. virginianum (Linnaeus) D. C. Eaton • Polypodium vinlandicum A. Löve and D. Löve • Polypodium vulgare auct. p. p. non L. • Polypodium vulgare var. virginianum (L.) Eat.

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 15-Mar-2000

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Polypodium

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 37 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

P. amorphum (Irregular Polypody) · P. appalachianum (Appalachian Polypody) · P. attenuatum (Tapered Polypody) · P. bulbiferum (Bulblet Bladderfern) · P. californicum (California Polypody) · P. calirhiza (Nested Polypody) · P. cambricum (Welsh Polypody) · P. carthusianum (Spinulose Wood Fern) · P. dissimile (Forkvein Polypody) · P. dulce (Treetrunk Polypody) · P. exaltatum (Sword Fern) · P. falax (Crested Poly) · P. formosanum (Catepillar Fern) · P. glycyrrhiza (Licorice Fern) · P. hesperium (Western Licorice Fern) · P. hexagonopterum (Broad Beech Fern) · P. ilvense (Rusty Woodsia) · P. interjectum (Polypody) · P. lanceolatum (Lanceleaf Polypody) · P. lonchitis (Northern Holly Fern) · P. loriceum (Clambering Polypody) · P. musifolium (Polypodium) · P. pellucidum (Ae) · P. pellucidum Kaulf. var. vulcanicum Skottsb. (Dotted Polypody) · P. pellucidum var. pellucidum (Dotted Polypody) · P. pellucidum var. vulcanicum (Dotted Polypody) · P. punctatum 'Grandiceps Cobra' (Climbing Bird's Nest Fern) · P. robertianum (Limestone Oak Fern) · P. saximontanum (Rocky Mountain Polypody) · P. scouleri (Coast Polypody) · P. sibiricum (Siberian Polypody) · P. subauriculatum var. knightii (Polypodium) · P. submarginale (Brownhair Lacefern) · P. triseriale (Angle-Vein Fern) · P. virginianum (Common Polypody) · P. virginianum var. peraferens (American Wall Fern) · P. 'Green Wave' (Polypodium)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 16, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Alan R. Smith "Polypodiaceae". in Flora of North America Vol. 2. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  2. Christopher H. Haufler, Michael D. Windham, Frank A. Lang, S. A. Whitmore "Polypodium". in Flora of North America Vol. 2. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  3. Mean = 188.530 meters (618.537 feet), Standard Deviation = 239.140 based on 9,788 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
Last Revised: 7/15/2012