Difference between revisions of "Pteridium latiusculum"

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Populations of ''Pteridium latiusculum'' have been known to persist through repeated annual burning.<ref>Platt, W.J., R. Carter, G. Nelson, W. Baker, S. Hermann, J. Kane, L. Anderson, M. Smith, K. Robertson. 2021. Unpublished species list of Wade Tract old-growth longleaf pine savanna, Thomasville, Georgia.</ref>
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Wild hogs will dig up and eat the roots of the ferns, but the plant is poisonous in large amounts to most other livestock.<ref> Mueschner, W.C. 1957. Poisonous Plants of the United States. The Macmillan Company, New York.</ref>
 
Wild hogs will dig up and eat the roots of the ferns, but the plant is poisonous in large amounts to most other livestock.<ref> Mueschner, W.C. 1957. Poisonous Plants of the United States. The Macmillan Company, New York.</ref>
 
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Latest revision as of 09:31, 15 July 2022

Common names: western brackenfern

Pteridium latiusculum
Pteridium latiusculum KMR.jpg
Photo by Kevin Robertson
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Pteridophyta
Class: Filicopsida
Order: Polypodiales
Family: Dennstaedtiaceae
Genus: Pteridium latiusculum
Species: P. latiusculum
Binomial name
Pteridium latiusculum
(Desvaux) Hieronymus
PTER LATI DIST.JPG
Natural range of Pteridium latiusculim from Weakley. [1]

Taxonomic Notes

Subspecies: Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn ssp. latiusculum

Varieties: Pteridium latiusculum (Desvaux) Hieronymus ex Fries var. latiusculum, Pteridium latiusculum (Desvaux) Hieronymus ex Fries var. pseudocaudatum (Clute) Maxon, Pteris latiuscula Desvaux var. latiuscula

Description

P. latiusculum is a native perennial forb that is a member of the Dennstaedtiaceae family.[2] It has short rootstalks that run horizontally up to a meter. The stalks are terminated by the leaf fronds that are broadly triangular in shape. The plants spread by spores or by the branching rootstalks.[3]

Distribution

The species is native to the southeast United States gulf coastal plain region, ranging from Louisiana and Kentucky to Maryland.[2]

Ecology

Habitat

The species is naturally found in dry woodlands, forests, and heath balds, up to 1600 meters in elevation.[4] It prefers dry, sandy or gravelly soils, and as a result is often found in abandoned fields and pastures.[5]

Fire ecology

Populations of Pteridium latiusculum have been known to persist through repeated annual burning.[6]

Herbivory and toxicology

Wild hogs will dig up and eat the roots of the ferns, but the plant is poisonous in large amounts to most other livestock.[7]

Conservation, cultivation, and restoration

Cultural use

If harvested when immature, the shoots can be prepared as a green much like asparagus.[8]

Photo Gallery

References and notes

  1. Weakley, Alan S. 2015. Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States: Working Draft of 21 May 2015. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. 1320 pp.
  2. 2.0 2.1 USDA Plants Database URL: https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=PTAQL
  3. Mueschner, W.C. 1957. Poisonous Plants of the United States. The Macmillan Company, New York.
  4. Weakley, A. S. (2015). Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States. Chapel Hill, NC, University of North Carolina Herbarium.
  5. Mueschner, W.C. 1957. Poisonous Plants of the United States. The Macmillan Company, New York.
  6. Platt, W.J., R. Carter, G. Nelson, W. Baker, S. Hermann, J. Kane, L. Anderson, M. Smith, K. Robertson. 2021. Unpublished species list of Wade Tract old-growth longleaf pine savanna, Thomasville, Georgia.
  7. Mueschner, W.C. 1957. Poisonous Plants of the United States. The Macmillan Company, New York.
  8. Mueschner, W.C. 1957. Poisonous Plants of the United States. The Macmillan Company, New York.