Regnellidium diphyllum

by | Oct 29, 2014 | Cultivated, Ferns, Observations | 2 comments

When I traveled to California, the last fern that I was expecting to find outdoors was Regnellidium diphyllum, a narrow endemic species from S Brazil, N Argentina, and Uruguay. But there it was, vigorously growing in a garden pond. Almost everything about this fern is unusual. Besides being aquatic, the sori are borne within hardened bean-like structures called “sporocarps”. Each sporocarp has two types of sporangia (megasporangia and microsporangia), a condition that is very rare among ferns (i.e., heterospory). Regnellidium is the only living species of Marsileaceae with two pinnae, thus the common name “two-leaved marsilea”. It is also the only nonflowering plant that produces latex, which is formed in unbranched laticiferous ducts in the cortex of the stem, petiole, and lamina (Gifford & Foster, 1989).

 

 

 

Collection data

Classification & Common Names
Collection Data
Collection Location

About the Author

2 Comments

  1. Tom Ranker

    Great shots, Fernando!

    Reply
    • Fernando Matos

      Thanks, Tom! The plant helped a lot.

      Reply

Leave a Reply to Fernando Matos Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Share This