Lygodium microphyllum
{{Short description|Species of fern}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = ARS Lygodium microphyllum foliage.jpg
| image_caption = Underside of spore-bearing leaflets, some leaflets produce spores; others do not.
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status2 = G5
| status2_system = TNC
| genus = Lygodium
| species = microphyllum
| authority = (Cav.) R.Br. Under its treatment as Lygodium microphyllum (from its basionym of Ugena microphylla), this species name was published first in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae 162. 1810. {{GRIN | accessdate=November 2, 2011}}
|synonyms = *Lygodium scandens auct.
- L. scandens (L.) Sw.
- L. scandens var. intermedium Ces.
- L. scandens var. microphyllum (Cav.) Luerss.
- Ophioglossum filiforme Roxb.
- Ugena microphylla Cav. (basionym)
|synonyms_ref = Ugena microphylla, the basionym of L. microphyllum, was first described and published in Icones et Descriptiones Plantarum 6: 76, pl. 595, f. 2. 1801. {{GRIN | Ugena microphylla | 403761 | accessdate = November 2, 2011}}{{cite web |url=http://www.tropicos.org/Name/26602849?tab=synonyms |title=Name - Ugena microphylla Cav. synonyms |work=Tropicos |publisher=Missouri Botanical Garden |location=Saint Louis, Missouri |accessdate=November 2, 2011}}
|range_map=Lygodium microphylium distribution.PNG
|range_map_alt=World map with green shading indicating the species' distribution in southeast Asia to the north and northeastern coasts of Australia, central and west Africa and Florida
}}
Lygodium microphyllum (commonly known as, variously, climbing maidenhair fern, Old World climbing fern, small-leaf climbing fern, or snake fern) is a climbing fern originating in tropical Africa, Southeast Asia, Melanesia and Australia. It is an invasive weed{{cite web|url=http://www.tncfire.org/crosscutting_fandi.htm |title=Global Fire Initiative: Fire and Invasives |publisher=The Nature Conservancy |accessdate=2008-12-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090412054533/http://www.tncfire.org/crosscutting_fandi.htm |archive-date=2009-04-12 }} in Florida{{cite journal|last1=Soti|first1=Pushpa G.|last2=Jayachandran|first2=Krish|last3=Koptur|first3=Suzanne|last4=Volin|first4=John C.|title=Effect of soil pH on growth, nutrient uptake, and mycorrhizal colonization in exotic invasive Lygodium microphyllum |journal=Plant Ecology|date=2015|volume=216|issue=7|pages=989–998|doi=10.1007/s11258-015-0484-6|s2cid=17894584}} where it invades open forest and wetland areas. The type specimen was collected in the vicinity of Nabúa, on the island of Luzon in the Philippines by Luis Née.{{cite web |url=http://www.tropicos.org/Name/26605865 |title=Name - Ugena microphylla Cav. |work=Tropicos |publisher=Missouri Botanical Garden |location=Saint Louis, Missouri |accessdate=November 2, 2011}}
Distribution
Lygodium microphyllum is native to much of tropical Africa and South Africa; tropical Asia, including China, Ryukyu Islands of Japan; Australia; Fiji, the Mariana Islands and Caroline Islands.
Lygodium microphyllum has become naturalized in the Caribbean and South Florida.
Effects on the environment
Lygodium microphyllum causes problems in the environments where it is invasive. The plant damages wetland ecosystems, harming endangered species.{{Cite journal|url =http://journals.fcla.edu/flaent/article/download/83238/80105 |title = Current status of the biological control agent Neomusotima conspurcatalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), on Lygodium microphyllum (Polypodiales: Lygodiaceae) in Florida |last1 = Smith|first1 = Melissa C |last2 = Lake|last3 = Pratt|last4 = Boughton|last5 = Pumberton |date = June 2014 |journal = Florida Entomologist |volume = 97 |issue = 2 |pages=817–820 |doi = 10.1653/024.097.0268 |jstor=24362579|doi-access = free }} The ferns ability to grow up and over trees and shrubs and to form dense horizontal canopies allows it to cover whole communities of plants, reducing native plant diversity. Old World climbing fern can grow in many diverse ecosystems. Lygodium microphyllum poses problems for fires, both natural and man-made, because it can lead fire into the tree canopy, killing trees.{{Cite journal|title = Austromusotima camptozonale ( Lepidoptera: Crambidae) herbivory results in frond and rhizome mortality of the invasive fern Lygodium microphyllum (Schizaeles: Lygodiaceae)|last1 = Rayamajhi|first1 = Min B |last2 = Pratt|first2 = Paul D|last3 = Leidi|first3 = Jorge|last4 = Center|first4 = Ted D |date = December 2014|journal = Florida Entomologist |volume=97 |issue=4 |pages=1308–1316 |doi =10.1653/024.097.0405 |jstor=24364092 |doi-access = free}} The fern rapidly spread in South Florida's public conservation lands.{{Cite web|url = http://myfwc.com/media/3225/InvasivePlants-Lygodium.pdf|title = Weed alert: Old World climbing fern|access-date = November 30, 2020|website = myFWC.com |publisher = Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission}}
Containment
Recently, the USDA approved the use of insects to keep the fern contained. Insects (Austromusotima camptozonale, Neomusotima conspurcatalis) and mites (Floracarus perrepae) have been released in several state parks to control the fern. Although some populations were devastated by a bout of cold weather, recently, reports of new activity have been made.
Ethnobotany
Lygodium microphyllum has been used locally in folk medicine to treat skin ailments and problems, swelling and dysentery.{{cite web|author=James A. Duke |title=Lygodium microphyllum (SCHIZAEACEAE) |publisher=Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases |url=https://phytochem.nal.usda.gov/phytochem/ethnoPlants/show/6453?et=
|accessdate=November 2, 2011|author-link=James A. Duke }}
Other uses
Lygodium microphyllum fibers (as well as other species of Lygodium), known as nito, are used to weave traditional salakot hats in the Philippines.{{cite book |title=Salakot and Other Headgear |publisher=ICHCAP, UNESCO |url=https://www.unesco-ichcap.org/eng/ek/sub3/pdf_file/domain5/095_Salakot_and_Other_Headgear.pdf}}{{cite web |title=Lygodium (PROSEA) |url=https://uses.plantnet-project.org/en/Lygodium_(PROSEA) |website=Pl@ntUse |accessdate=3 March 2020}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Commons category|Lygodium microphyllum}}
Further reading
- Jeffrey T. Hutchinson, Kenneth A. Langeland, Gregory E. MacDonald and Robert Querns, 2010; Absorption and Translocation of Glyphosate, Metsulfuron, and Triclopyr in Old World Climbing Fern (Lygodium microphyllum). Weed Science 58:2, 118-125 Online publication date : 1-Apr-2010 ([http://www.wssajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1614/WS-D-09-00046.1 abstract])
External links
- {{Cite journal|last1=Pemberton|first1=Robert W.|last2=Ferriter|first2=Amy P.|date=1998|title=Old World Climbing Fern (Lygodium microphyllum), a Dangerous Invasive Weed in Florida|journal=American Fern Journal|volume=88|issue=4|pages=165–175|doi=10.2307/1547769|jstor=1547769|issn=0002-8444}}
- [https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/profile/old-world-climbing-fern Species Profile - Old World Climbing Fern (Lygodium microphyllum)], National Invasive Species Information Center, United States National Agricultural Library. Lists general information and resources for Old World Climbing Fern.
- [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1547769 "Old World Climbing Fern (Lygodium microphyllum), a Dangerous Invasive Weed in Florida,"] American Fern Journal Vol. 88 No. 4 (1998)
- {{Cite web|title=Killer fern overruns refuge; agencies fight back|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/palm-beach/fl-reg-scary-fern-wildlife-refuge-20180614-story.html|last=Fleshler|first=David|website=sun-sentinel.com|date=15 June 2018 |access-date=2020-05-11}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q5235063}}
Category:Plants described in 1801
Category:Flora of tropical Asia
Category:Flora of the Ryukyu Islands