BLECHNACEAE

DEER FERN FAMILY

Alan R. Smith and Thomas Lemieux

Plants in soil; rhizome short-creeping to erect, scaly
Leaves all alike or of 2 kinds, fertile and sterile; petiole in transverse section with vascular strands in a circle; blade deeply pinnately lobed to 1-pinnate with deeply pinnately lobed 1° leaflets, hairs generally 0; veins free or netted
Sporangia in linear to oblong sori along veins parallel to the nearest midrib; indusium shaped ± like sorus, opening towards nearest midrib; stalk cells in 2–3 rows; spores elliptic, scar linear
Genera in family: ± 9 genera, ± 250 species: worldwide, especially tropical. New growth often reddish; several species cultivated.

WOODWARDIA

CHAIN FERN

Rhizome prostrate to ascending; scales dense, orange-brown
Leaves all alike, 1-pinnate with 1° leaflets deeply pinnately lobed, the lower generally slightly reduced or not; veins of sterile leaves netted but free at margin
Sporangia: sori oblong, many per lobe, end-to-end along each side of lobe midrib and 1° leaflet midrib
Species in genus: 13 species: North America, C.Am, eastern Asia, Eur, generally temp, subtropical
Etymology: (T.J. Woodward, British phycologist, 1745–1820)

Native

W. fimbriata Sm.

GIANT CHAIN FERN

Rhizome prostrate, short, stout
Leaf generally 1–3 m; petiole generally 5–15 mm wide at base, straw-colored, scales large, orange-brown to straw-colored; 1° leaflets generally 15–30 cm, often glandular, lower slightly reduced
Sporangia: sori generally ± 2–4 mm
Chromosomes: 2n=68
Ecology: Near streams, springs
Elevation: ± 0–2300 m.
Bioregional distribution: California Floristic Province (except Great Central Valley)
Distribution outside California: Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, nw Mexico
Cult
Horticultural information: IRR or WET: 4, 5 &SHD; 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.