Login
Login

Tree fern

{{short description|Ferns that grow with a trunk elevating the fronds above ground level}}

File:Rainforest near Belle - Dominica.jpg, Dominica]]

File:Alsophila sp. tree ferns - Misamis Oriental, Philippines 01.jpg sp. tree ferns overlooking a valley in Misamis Oriental, Philippines]]

Tree ferns are arborescent (tree-like) ferns that grow with a trunk elevating the fronds above ground level, making them trees. Many extant tree ferns are members of the order Cyatheales, to which belong the families Cyatheaceae (scaly tree ferns), Dicksoniaceae, Metaxyaceae, and Cibotiaceae. It is estimated that Cyatheales originated in the early Jurassic,{{cite journal | pmc=5119233 | date=2016 | last1=Sosa | first1=V. | last2=Ornelas | first2=J. F. | last3=Ramírez-Barahona | first3=S. | last4=Gándara | first4=E. | title=Historical reconstruction of climatic and elevation preferences and the evolution of cloud forest-adapted tree ferns in Mesoamerica | journal=PeerJ | volume=4 | pages=e2696 | doi=10.7717/peerj.2696 | doi-access=free | pmid=27896030 }}{{Cite journal |last1=Sosa |first1=Victoria |last2=Ornelas |first2=Juan Francisco |last3=Ramírez-Barahona |first3=Santiago |last4=Gándara |first4=Etelvina |date=2016 |title=Historical reconstruction of climatic and elevation preferences and the evolution of cloud forest-adapted tree ferns in Mesoamerica |journal=PeerJ |volume=4 |at=[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5119233/figure/fig-1/ Chronogram of the Cyatheaceae and other tree fern lineages] |doi=10.7717/peerj.2696 |doi-access=free |issn=2167-8359 |pmc=5119233 |pmid=27896030}} and is the third group of ferns known to have given rise to tree-like forms. The others are the extinct Tempskya of uncertain position,{{Cite journal|last1=Martínez|first1=Leandro C.A.|last2=Olivo|first2=Mariana S.|date=August 2015|title=Tempskya in the Valanginian of South America (Mulichinco Formation, Neuquén Basin, Argentina) — Systematics, palaeoclimatology and palaeoecology|url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S003466671500069X|journal=Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology|language=en|volume=219|pages=116–131|doi=10.1016/j.revpalbo.2015.04.002|bibcode=2015RPaPa.219..116M |hdl=11336/49538|hdl-access=free}} and Osmundales where the extinct Guaireaceae and some members of Osmundaceae also grew into trees. In addition there were the Psaroniaceae including Tietea in the Marattiales, which is the sister group to all the leptosporangiate ferns.{{Cite journal|title=An open and continuously updated fern tree of life|first1=Joel H.|last1=Nitta|first2=Eric|last2=Schuettpelz|first3=Santiago|last3=Ramírez-Barahona|first4=Wataru|last4=Iwasaki|date=March 27, 2022|journal=Frontiers in Plant Science|volume=13|pages=909768|doi=10.3389/fpls.2022.909768|doi-access=free |pmid=36092417|pmc=9449725}}

Other ferns which are also tree ferns, are Leptopteris and Todea in the family Osmundaceae, which can achieve short trunks under a metre tall. Osmunda regalis is sometimes considered a tree fern.{{Cite book |last=Large, Braggins |first=Mark.F, John.E |title=Tree Ferns |publisher=Timber Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-1604691764}} Fern species with short trunks in the genera Blechnum, Cystodium and Sadleria from the order Polypodiales, and smaller members of Cyatheales like Calochlaena, Cnemedaria, Culcita (mountains only tree fern), Lophosoria and Thyrsopteris are also considered tree ferns. The species Ctenitis sloanei (The Florida Tree Fern) from Florida, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean is sometimes called a tree fern.{{Cite journal |last1=Muss |first1=Jordan D. |last2=Austin |first2=Daniel F. |last3=Snyder |first3=James R. |date=2003 |title=Plants of the Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3557535 |journal=The Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society |volume=130 |issue=2 |pages=119–142 |doi=10.2307/3557535 |jstor=3557535 |issn=1095-5674}}{{Cite journal |last1=Austin |first1=Daniel F. |last2=Iverson |first2=Grace Blanchard |last3=Nauman |first3=Clifton E. |date=1979 |title=A Tropical Fern Grotto in Broward County, Florida |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1546906 |journal=American Fern Journal |volume=69 |issue=1 |pages=14–16 |doi=10.2307/1546906 |jstor=1546906 |bibcode=1979AmFJ...69...14A |issn=0002-8444}}{{cite web |title=Ctenitis sloanei |url=https://plant-directory.ifas.ufl.edu/plant-directory/ctenitis-sloanei/ |website=Center For Aquatic And Invasive Plants |publisher=University of Florida}}{{cite web |title=Field Release of Neomusotima conspurcatalis (Warren) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), an Insect for Biological Control of Old World Climbing Fern (Lygodium microphyllum), in the Continental United States |url=https://www.aphis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/lygodium.pdf |website=United States Department of Agriculture.gov |publisher=US Government}}

Range

Tree ferns are found growing in tropical and subtropical areas worldwide, as well as cool to temperate rainforests in Australia, New Zealand and neighbouring regions (e.g. Lord Howe Island, etc.). Like all ferns, tree ferns reproduce by means of spores formed on the undersides of the fronds.

Description

File:Tempskya sp. - MUSE.jpg, an extinct fern from the Cretaceous]]

The fronds of tree ferns are usually very large and multiple-pinnate. Their trunk is actually a vertical and modified rhizome,{{cite journal | pmc=3936591 | date=2014 | last1=Christenhusz | first1=M. J. | last2=Chase | first2=M. W. | title=Trends and concepts in fern classification | journal=Annals of Botany | volume=113 | issue=4 | pages=571–594 | doi=10.1093/aob/mct299 | pmid=24532607 }} and woody tissue is absent. To add strength, there are deposits of lignin in the cell walls and the lower part of the stem is reinforced with thick, interlocking mats of tiny roots.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nzplants.auckland.ac.nz/en/about/ferns/structure/stem.html|title=Stem - The University of Auckland|website=www.nzplants.auckland.ac.nz}} If the crown of Dicksonia antarctica (the most common species in gardens) is damaged, it will inevitably die because that is where all the new growth occurs. But other clump-forming tree fern species, such as D. squarrosa and D. youngiae, can regenerate from basal offsets or from "pups" emerging along the surviving trunk length. Tree ferns often fall over in the wild, yet manage to re-root from this new prostrate position and begin new vertical growth.

Uses

Tree-ferns have been cultivated for their beauty alone; a few, however, were of some economic application, chiefly as sources of starch. These include the Sphaeropteris excelsa of Norfolk Island that was threatened with extinction for the sake of its sago-like pith, which was eaten by pigs. It is now widely cultivated as an ornamental tree, although there is only one small wild population on Norfolk Island.{{cite web |title=Norfolk Island Plants |url=https://parksaustralia.gov.au/norfolk/discover/plants/ |website=Norfolk Island National Park |publisher=Australian Government Parks Australia |access-date=6 April 2023}} Sphaeropteris medullaris (mamaku, black tree fern) also furnished a kind of sago to people living in New Zealand, Queensland and the Pacific islands. A Javanese species of Dicksonia (D. chrysotricha) furnishes silky hairs, which were once imported as a styptic, and the long silky or wooly hairs, abundant on the stem and frond-leaves in the various species of Cibotium have not only been put to a similar use, but in the Hawaiian Islands furnished wool for stuffing mattresses and cushions, which was formerly an article of export.{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Tree-Fern|volume=27|page=235}}

Species

image:nzfern.arp.500pix.jpg tree ferns at Combe Martin Wildlife and Dinosaur Park, North Devon, England]]

image:Sphaeropteris lepifera crown.png fern in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan]]

It is not certain the exact number of species of tree ferns there are, but it may be close to 600–700 species.{{cite book |title=McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology |date=2012 |publisher=McGraw-Hill |isbn=978-0071792738 |edition=11th |volume=18 |location=New York, NY |page=642 |oclc=785808931}} Many species have become extinct in the last century as forest habitats have come under pressure from human intervention.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}

References

{{reflist}}

External links

  • [http://www.fpa.tas.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/110221/Flora_Tech_Note_05_Treefern_identification_and_management.pdf Flora Technical Note No. 5: Identification and management of tree ferns] from Tasmania Forest Practices Authority
  • [http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/plants/tree-fern Tree Fern] from the San Diego Zoo website

Category:Ferns

Category:Plant common names

Category:Plants by habit