Dennstaedtia
Dennstaedtia, also known as the Hay-scented Fern, has approximately 45 species around the world. One of these species is native to Eastern Australia and has also been sighted in the Jarrah Forest's of Western Australia. It is known as the Hay-scented Fern due to its distinct hay scent, which is especially strong near the end of season, when their fronds are turning a yellow-brown colour. These Ferns live in tropical and temperate regions and are recognised by their deciduous fronds and their cup-like sorus.
Dennstaedtia is a non threatened species and is not listed on any conservation lists, including the IUCN threatened red list. The species within this genus found in western Australia is Dennstaedtia davallioides. This species is found on the South Australian Sensitive Species list, and is listed as Endangered in South Australia. However, in Western Australia this species is considered an Alien species (Florabase) and is not threatened.
Florabase: Dennstaedtia davallioides shows an * symbols which means Alien species
http://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/17336
Currently there are no threats to this genus in Western Australia.
These ferns are found growing on dry land. Their Rhizomes can be anywhere from seven to sixteen centimetres in length. The Rhizomes of these ferns can also grow along the ground and be covered in hair. The fronds of these ferns can be large and divided anywhere from once to four times. Veins of these fronds do not reunite with other veins and there are no scales found on the fronds of these ferns. These ferns have Sori, which can be round or oval in shape and are often found very close to the edge of the leaf. They can also be found on the stem of the leaf where the veins end. Sori can sometimes be found with a sterile hair-like filament, which can be found on the reproductive organs of some plants. A tissue that has two similar parts protects the Sori these tissue parts are cup-shaped. These similar shaped tissue parts consist of an inner thin scale and an outer expanded leaf, which is rolled. Spores of this fern are tetrahedral but appear round or triangle and exist in three lines that form a Y-shape. The lines on the spores are rigid and form a network pattern. There are some types of this fern that are found outside of Australia and therefore have some differing features. Ferns of this type that are found outside of Australia may have Rhizomes that are hairless and covered in prickles. Their fronds can be covered in hair, or their fronds can be hairless and covered in prickles.
Flora of Australia online: http://www.anbg.gov.au/abrs/online-resources/flora/redirect.jsp
Dennstaedtia is separated from is closest relative, Microlepia, by the position of its sori and the morphology of its spores.
Evolution in this genus may be the result of a long series of aneuploid reductions from a source in the family Cyathaceae. The genus Dennstaedtia is described as a monophyletic clade (Wolf et al, 1994). Later, Dennstaedtia proved to be paraphyletic and Leptolepia and Microlepia were included in the same clade. There were beleifs (Bower, 1926) that this genus belonged in Dicksoniaceae, while others (Conard,1908) belived it belonged to Polypodiaceae. Holtum (1949) separated Dicksoniaceae and Cyathaceae, placing Dennstaedtiaceae in the center of both, therefore separating Dennstaedtia from these families.
Microlepia and Dennstaedtia show great morphological similarity. Both genera differ only in the morphology and position of the sori and spore morphology. They are so similar in morphology that at one time the species davallioides was found in Microlepia.
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Polypodiales
Family: Dennstaedtiaceae
*Genus: Dennstaedtia
This genus can be found in the tropical and regions of the Americas, Asia, Australia and the Pacific.
In Western Australia:
Beard’s Provinces: South-West Province.
IBRA Regions: Jarrah Forest.
IBRA Subregions: Northern Jarrah Forest.
Local Government Areas (LGAs): Kalamunda.
A map of the distribution of this genus can be found via the following link:
http://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/20901
The specimens within this genus are terrestrial and live in tropical and temperate climates. They live in moist to wet, acidic soils and mainly reside in forest areas. These plants can grow to 92 cm in Height and 61 cm in width. They grow at ground level, usual creeping along the ground, however some species can grow upright.
No information found about genus.
Recent comments