Kingdom Plantae Order Polypodiales Scientific name Blechnum Rank Genus | Division Pteridophyta Family Blechnaceae Higher classification Blechnaceae | |
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Lower classifications Blechnum spicant, Blechnum gibbum, Blechnum penna‑marina, Blechnum discolor, Blechnum chambersii | ||
Blechnum silver lady plant profile pot n all garden starters
Blechnum (hard fern) is a genus of between 150–220 species of ferns with a cosmopolitan distribution, in the family Blechnaceae in the eupolypods II clade of the order Polypodiales. By far the greatest species diversity is in tropical regions of the Southern Hemisphere, with only a few species reaching cool temperate latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere (notably B. penna-marina, south to Cape Horn, Chile, the southernmost fern in the world) and Northern Hemisphere (notably B. spicant, north to Iceland and northern Norway).
Contents
- Blechnum silver lady plant profile pot n all garden starters
- Deer fern blechnum spicant
- Species
- Circumscription
- Cultivation and uses
- References
Most are herbaceous plants, but a few species (e.g. B. buchtienii and B. schomburgkii in Ecuador) are tree ferns with stems up to 3 m tall. Blechnum varies from most ferns in having a separation of sterile (photosynthetic) and fertile (reproductive) fronds in the same plant.
Deer fern blechnum spicant
Species
Circumscription
The circumscription of the genus has varied since it was established by Linnaeus in 1753. Some authors have put many of its species in a segregate genus Lomaria. DNA taxonomy indicates that the genus Doodia is embedded in Blechnum.
Cultivation and uses
Several species are grown as ornamental plants in gardens.
