Ophioglossum pusillum - (image 1 of 5)
Taxonomy
Family: Ophioglossaceae
Synonymous with O. vulgatum L. var. pseudopodum (S.F. Blake) Farw.
Habitat
Low woods, grassy marsh edges.
Associates
Distribution
Cicumboreal; in North America mostly north of the glacial boundary but south in mountains to southern VA.
Morphology
Short-lived perennial to 35 cm; stipe (1.5-)6-13(-19) cm; leaves mostly solitary; blade pale green, herbaceous, flat, elliptic-oblong, tapering to the base, rounded to obtuse or subacute, but not apiculate, mostly 4-8 cm long and (1-)2-4 cm, sessile or short-stalked, basal sheath membraneous and ephemeral; venation regularly areolate, the areoles all small with mostly free included veinlets, not enclosing secondary areoles; sporophore 1-5 cm long and 2.5-4 mm wide on a stalk mostly 7-14 cm; sporangia 0.6-1.2 mm thick; spores averaging 50-60 microns.
Notes
Spores produced spring to early summer
Wetland indicator: FACW
Plants in the genus Ophioglossum have the highest chromosome numbers recorded in vascular plants. In this species 2n=960-1320.
References
Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.
The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY
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Michael Hough © 2018 |