OPHIOGLOSSACEAE

ADDER'S-TONGUE FAMILY

Warren H. Wagner, Jr.

Perennial, small, fleshy, generally glabrous; caudex generally underground, unbranched; roots glabrous, with bulblets or plantlets or not
Leaf generally 1 per caudex per year, divided into 2 facing parts with a common stalk; sterile part separated from fertile at to well above ground, blade simple to compound, veins free and forked (or netted, with included veinlets); fertile part bladeless, bearing sporangia, simple to compound
Sporangia dehiscent into 2 valves, ± 1 mm wide, thick-walled
Genera in family: 3 genera, 70–85 species: ± worldwide, generally rare or overlooked. Fern-like plants with many traits of seed plants. Specimens must be carefully spread and pressed for identification; haploid generation underground, fleshy, non-green, associated with fungi.

OPHIOGLOSSUM

ADDER'S-TONGUE

Roots smooth, pale, generally with bulblets or plantlets
Leaf: sterile part simple, linear to lanceolate or cordate, not midribbed, entire, firm, herbaceous, tip often with small stiff point, veins netted with included free branched or unbranched veinlets; fertile part generally > sterile, unbranched, slender
Sporangia in 2 rows, sunken in a linear, long-stalked axis
Species in genus: 20–25 species: generally warm temp, tropical
Etymology: (Greek: snake's tongue, from protruding fertile part of leaf)
Horticultural information: TRY; DFCLT.

Native

O. californicum Prantl

CALIFORNIA ADDER'S-TONGUE

Caudex < 16 mm, 5 mm wide
Leaf: sterile part separated from fertile at ground, blade generally ± folded, thick, herbaceous, green
Sporangia 8–15 pairs; rows of sporangia 8–15 mm; sterile axis tip 0.3–1.5 mm
Ecology: Uncommon. Grassy pastures, chaparral, vernal pool margins
Elevation: 60–300 m.
Bioregional distribution: n&c Sierra Nevada Foothills, San Joaquin Valley, Central Coast, South Coast
Distribution outside California: Mexico
Synonyms: O. lusitanicum subsp. c. (Prantl) R.T. Clausen
Emerges in early spring during rainy periods; probably under-collected.