''Sceptridium multifidum'' is a

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except t ...

species in the

Ophioglossaceae Ophioglossaceae, the adder's-tongue family, is a small family of ferns. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), it is the only family in the order Ophioglossales, which together with the Psilotales is placed in the sub ...

Botrychium
Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 16 January 2012 (Adder's tongue family), known by the common names leathery grapefern and leathery moonwort.

Distribution

It is native to Europe, Asia, and North America including Greenland, where it is widespread and grows in moist areas in many habitat types.

Description

This is a fleshy, leathery plant growing from a small

caudex A caudex (plural: caudices) of a plant is a stem, but the term is also used to mean a rootstock and particularly a basal stem structure from which new growth arises.pages 456 and 695 In the strict sense of the term, meaning a stem, "caudex" is m ...

with thin, corky roots. Unlike most ferns, ''S. multifidum'' has contractile roots, which are thought to help anchor the plant in the soil. It produces a single leaf which emerges directly from the ground. It is divided into a sterile and a fertile part. The sterile part of the leaf is wide and has rounded or oval-shaped leaflets. The fertile part of the leaf is very different in shape, with grape-like clusters of

sporangia A sporangium (; from Late Latin, ) is an enclosure in which spores are formed. It can be composed of a single cell or can be multicellular. Virtually all plants, fungi, and many other lineages form sporangia at some point in their life cy ...

by which it reproduces. The gametophytes develop from these spores in the soil, and are thought to associate with an endophytic fungus like the gametophytes of other members of this genus. While the gametophytes have not been observed in nature, they have been grown under lab conditions.

Rarity

This species is rare in Europe. In Ukraine, there have been 86 recorded localities. In Greenland this species is considered Vulnerable.

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentFlora of North AmericaPhoto gallery
Ophioglossaceae Ferns of the Americas Ferns of Asia Ferns of Europe Ferns of California Ferns of the United States Flora of the West Coast of the United States Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of the Western United States Flora of the Northern United States Flora of Canada Flora of Finland Flora of Russia Flora of Greenland Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{fern-stub