Blechnum occidentale var. minor

Hooker

Sp. Fil. 3: 51. 1860.

Common names: Hammock fern New World midsorus fern
Basionym: Blechnum glandulosum forma pubirachis (Rosenstock) Lellinger in Link
Synonyms: Blechnum occidentale Blechnum occidentale var. pubirachis Rosenstock
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 2.

Stems slender, creeping, elongate, branched, ascending to erect at tip, not climbing. Leaves ± monomorphic, cespitose to widely spaced, erect to arching, fertile leaves only slightly contracted and longer than sterile leaves. Petiole straw-colored to light-brown, (4-) 8-34 cm, coarsely scaly proximally. Blade narrowly to broadly lanceolate, 1-pinnate proximally, becoming pinnatifid distally, or pinnatifid throughout, without conform terminal pinna, 10-30 × 3-12 cm, base truncate, pubescent abaxially. Rachis with indument of spreading, ± gland-tipped hairs abaxially. Pinnae not articulate to rachis, proximal pinnae sessile to subsessile, distal pinnae adnate; larger pinnae curved, lanceolate, 2-7 × 0.5-1.5 cm. Fertile pinnae slightly contracted; margins minutely serrulate to nearly entire; costae with indument of hairs abaxially. 2n = 124.


Habitat: Rocky and clayey places near seasonally dry streams, shady hammocks or open woods, over limestone, soil nearly neutral
Elevation: 0 m

Distribution

V2 219-distribution-map.gif

Fla., Ga., La., Tex., West Indies, Central America, South America to Bolivia

Discussion

Blechnum occidentale var. minor differs from var. occidentale in having rachises slightly pubescent or puberulous abaxially. Both varieties are found throughout the New World tropics; B. occidentale var. minor grows at higher elevations (D. B. Lellinger 1985). The nomenclature of these taxa is complicated, and other names may apply. Systematic problems involving different ploidy levels and apparent geographic clines in Blechnum occidentale sensu lato remain to be solved.

Plants of Blechnum occidentale often reproduce extensively by stolons as well as by spores.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.
Clifton E. Nauman +
Hooker +
Blechnum glandulosum +
2-pinnate +, simple +  and 1-pinnate +
anthocyanic +
10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br /> (30 cm300 mm <br />0.3 m <br />) +
occasionally +  and glabrous +
pinnatifid +  and lanceolate +
3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br /> (12 cm120 mm <br />0.12 m <br />) +
Hammock fern +  and New World midsorus fern +
sorus-bearing +
hairy +, scaly +  and glabrous +
sorus-bearing +
Fla. +, Ga. +, La. +, Tex. +, West Indies +, Central America +  and South America to Bolivia +
Rocky and clayey places near seasonally dry streams, shady hammocks or open woods, over limestone, soil nearly neutral +
gland-tipped +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (7 cm70 mm <br />0.07 m <br />) +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br />) +
monomorphic +
erect +  and arching +
sterile +  and fertile +
minutely serrulate +  and nearly entire +
ornamented +
not articulate +
4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br /> (8 cm80 mm <br />0.08 m <br />) +
straw-colored;light-brown +
8 cm80 mm <br />0.08 m <br /> (34 cm340 mm <br />0.34 m <br />) +
not articulate +
sessile;subsessile +
hairy +, scaly +  and glabrous +
black +  and brown +
continuous +  and uninterrupted +
elongate +
reniform +
not climbing +
ascending +  and erect +
elongate +
slender +
Blechnum occidentale +  and Blechnum occidentale var. pubirachis +
Blechnum occidentale var. minor +
Blechnum occidentale +
variety +
anastomosing +
rarely +  and terrestrial +
36 +, 34 +, 32 +, 31 +, 29 +  and 28 +