Kingdom Plantae Order Polypodiales Genus Rumohra Higher classification Rumohra | Division Pteridophyta Family Elaphoglossaceae Scientific name Rumohra adiantiformis Rank Species | |
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Similar Rumohra, Chamaedaphne, Dryopteridaceae, Arachniodes, Blechnum | ||
Rumohra adiantiformis, commonly called leatherleaf fern and leather fern, leathery shieldfern, iron fern, 7-weeks-fern, and climbing shield fern, is a species of fern in the family Elaphoglossaceae.
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Distribution
The fern is native to South America, the Caribbean, southern Africa, the Western Indian Ocean islands, Papua New Guinea, and Australasia.
Countries it is native to include such diverse places as Brazil and Colombia, the Galápagos Islands, the Greater Antilles in the Caribbean, Zimbabwe and South Africa Australia, and New Zealand.
An example plant associations of Rumohra adiantiformis is found in the podocarp/broadleaf forests of Westland, New Zealand, with flora associates including Ascarina lucida, Pseudowintera colorata, Pseudopanax colensoi, Cyathea smithii and Blechnum discolor.
Description
The fronds of Rumohra adiantiformis contain round sori (reproductive clusters) on the underside of the pinnae (leaflets) unlike many other ferns which have separate specialized reproductive fronds. Many of the sori have peltate indusia and have prominent scales on the stipes of the fronds. This species has a broad distribution; for example, Rumohra adiantiformis is found in the Old World as well as the New World,
Cultivation
The fern is cultivated as an ornamental plant. It is used as a groundcover and in floral arrangements.
It is of economic importance in Brazil, where thousands of people generate their income by wild-harvesting and selling the fronds.