Adiantum philippense (Fern taxa)
Adiantum philippense,part of the genus Adiantum which are commonly referred to as maiden ferns, is a fern which grows commonly in areas of the North-West of Australia in the Kimberley region.
Have been observed as fertile during the months of May through to October and occasionally in February.
The most distinctive feature of this particular fern is the shape of the leaflets on each frond. Each leaflet contains one rounded edge and one lobed edge and the central vein runs closer to one side than the other.
It is native to Australia and is found only in this region of Australia and few parts of Asia.
It grows in remote areas that have small water sources such as rock crevices with water running nearby.
(Florabase, the Western Australia Fauna)
Distribution
Found throughout the Northern Territory and Queensland in Australia. It prefers the hot and humid climate of the North-West of Australia.
http://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/browse/map/28
This page shows the exact areas in the North of Western Australia that A. philippense can be found.
Habitat
Can be found in rock crevices, damp rock ledges near water and vine thicket gorges. Also found commonly in areas of low soil and rocky outcrops. Any areas with small amounts of constant water and some brief periods of drought.
According to Florabase of Australia, Adiantum philippense is not a threatened species of fern.
No information was available to claim as to the likelihood of extinction however based on the current conservation status of A. philippense and its current distribution amongst the North-West of Australia, the fern is unlikely to be in any danger any time soon.
The rhizome of A. philippense is short growing and runs along the surface of the ground. It divides once and has a smooth surface. The fronds are between 200mm and 500mm in length and divide once into leaflets. The surfaces of the fronds are smooth. The stipe is brown in colour and shiny in appearance on the surface. It also contains several triangular scales at the base. Pinnae are clearly visible on the stalk and decrease in length as they approach the top of the frond to which they are attached. Pinnae are not symmetrical and form a slightly unusual shape with veins that run close to one side of the margin. They can be slanted and elongated, slanted and fan shaped and crescent shaped. The lower margin is straight and curved inwards. The upper margin is wavy in shape and the lobes are broad with shallow indentation. There are usually 3-6 sori per pinnule and the sori can be thin and elongated and thin and kidney shaped. They combine along the upper margin and are covered by a re-curved section of pinnule with no protective film (Kramer & McCarthy, 1988).
The most closely related plant to A. philippense is A. Hispidulum.
There are some distinctive features that clearly seperate the two species.
The stipe of A. hispidulum contains red-brown hairs whilst A. philippense is smooth without any hairs. A. hispidulum has 2-5 sori per pinnule instead of 3-6 found in A. philippense. Sori are found in the notches between the lobes in A. hispidulum. The sori in A. philippense are found along the upper margin of the pinnule (Kramer & McCarthy, 1988).
According to recent studies using plastid markers atpA, atpB, rbcL, tmL-F and rps4-tmS, Adiantum philippense shares common ancestry with several species of Adiantum.
These species are from differeing series such as the Caudata, Venusta and Flabellulata.
The distinct features that these species share are all generally related to frond structure. A defining feature of the series Caudata is a prolonged stolon at the tip of the frond which is semi-present in A. philippense. A.reniforme which has simple fronds similar to A. philippense has evolved with a decompound lamina containing many flabellate to cuneate segments.
This phylogeny suggest that the genus Adiantum has gone through phases of convergent evolution in terms of the structure of the fronds of each species including A. philippense (Lu, Wen, Lutz, Wang and Li, 2012).
Studies done have shown that A. philippense contains some powerful toxins that are harmful to humans if consumed. However they have also shown antioxidants that could be extracted and possibly used for medical purposes. Further studies are being undertaken in Asia and more results are expected to emerge in the near future (Ali, Amin, Kamal, Hossain & Hossain, 2013).
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