Pteridium latiusculum

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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]

Conservation, cultivation, and restoration

Cultural use

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.