''Tectaria zeilanica'', the oak leaf fern, is a species of
fern
The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...
in the family
Tectariaceae
Tectariaceae is a family of leptosporangiate ferns in the order Polypodiales. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), the family is placed in the suborder Polypodiineae. Alternatively, it may be treated as the ...
. It is native to Sri Lanka, India, and the
Indochina
Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to th ...
region in southern China and Vietnam, and Taiwan.
It is a small fern, with erect fertile fronds, and sterile fronds shaped like small
oak
An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...
leaves.
The name is often erroneously spelled 'zeylanica', but it was originally published as 'zeilanica', and this is not a correctable error under the
.
Synonym
* ''Quercifilix zeilanica''
References
* Kew Bull. 27: 422 (1972)
* Barbara Joe Hoshizaki, Robbin Craig Moran, ''Fern grower's manual'', 2nd edition, Timber Press, 2001, page 517. .
* V. S. Manickam, S. Harikrishanan, A. Bennianim and H. Joseph, "Rediscovery of Tectaria zeylanica (Houtt.) Sledge family: Dryopteridaecae: a rare species of Western Ghats, South India", Indian Fern Journal, Volume 20 No. 1-2 2003, pages 94–96.
zeilanica
Ferns of Asia
Ferns of India
Flora of China
Flora of Sri Lanka
Flora of Taiwan
Flora of Vietnam
{{Polypodiales-stub