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Stag Horn Fern
''Platycerium'' is a genus of about 18 fern species in the polypod family, Polypodiaceae. Ferns in this genus are widely known as staghorn or elkhorn ferns due to their uniquely shaped fronds. This genus is epiphytic and is native to tropical and temperate areas of South America, Africa, Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Guinea. Description ''Platycerium'' sporophytes (adult plants) have tufted roots, growing from a short rhizome, and bear two types of fronds - basal and fertile fronds. Basal fronds are sterile, shield- or kidney-shaped, and laminate against the tree, to protect the fern's roots from damage and desiccation. In some ''Platycerium'' species, the top margin of these fronds will grow into an open crown of lobes; catching rainwater, falling forest litter, bird/animal droppings, and even an occasional fallen deceased animal, these plants build up their own “compost” system of nutrition over many years. Fertile fronds bear spores on their undersurface, are dichot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Platycerium Bifurcatum
''Platycerium bifurcatum'', commonly known as the elkhorn fern or staghorn fern, is a species of plant in the fern family Polypodiaceae native to Java, New Guinea, New South Wales, Queensland and Lord Howe Island. Description It is a bracket epiphyte occurring in and near rainforests. Growing to tall by broad, it has heart-shaped sterile fronds long, and arching grey-green fertile fronds which are forked and strap-shaped, and grow up to long. Taxonomy The genus name ''Platycerium'' comes from the Greek ''platys'' (flat), and ''ceras'' (horn), while the specific epithet ''bifurcatum'' means forked. Both names are referring to the morphology of the fertile fronds. Habit Some aggregations of these ferns exhibit individuals specialized for different roles. Individuals near the bottom of such groups produce sterile fronds, which soak up water collected by strap frond producing individuals above. The strap frond producing individuals also collect detritus from above. These nu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Platycerium Veitchii
''Platycerium veitchii'', called the silver elkhorn fern or the silver staghorn fern, is a species of fern in the family Polypodiaceae, native to Queensland. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ... as an ornamental. References veitchii Flora of Queensland Ferns of Australia Plants described in 1906 Epiphytes {{Polypodiaceae-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Mainland Australia, Australia by the wide Torres Strait, though both landmasses lie on the same continental shelf, and were united during episodes of low sea level in the Pleistocene glaciations as the combined landmass of Sahul. Numerous smaller islands are located to the west and east. The island's name was given by Spanish explorer Yñigo Ortiz de Retez during his maritime expedition of 1545 due to the perceived resemblance of the indigenous peoples of the island to those in the Guinea (region), African region of Guinea. The eastern half of the island is the major land mass of the nation of Papua New Guinea. The western half, known as Western New Guinea, forms a part of Indonesia and is organized as the provinces of Pap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller islands. It has a total area of , making it the list of countries and dependencies by area, sixth-largest country in the world and the largest in Oceania. Australia is the world's flattest and driest inhabited continent. It is a megadiverse countries, megadiverse country, and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and Climate of Australia, climates including deserts of Australia, deserts in the Outback, interior and forests of Australia, tropical rainforests along the Eastern states of Australia, coast. The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south-east Asia 50,000 to 65,000 years ago, during the Last Glacial Period, last glacial period. By the time of British settlement, Aboriginal Australians spoke 250 distinct l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
