Schizaea pusilla

Pursh

Fl. Amer. Sept. 2: 657. 1814.

Common names: Curly-grass fern
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 2. Treatment on page 113.
Revision as of 21:48, 16 December 2019 by FNA>Volume Importer

Plants minute, rarely more than 10 cm. Stems 0.3–3 cm, covered by leaves or leaf bases. Leaves dimorphic. Sterile leaves ± coiled and spreading, very numerous, somewhat flattened, 1–5 cm × 0.2–0.3 mm. Fertile leaves upright, 1–12 cm; petioles long, straight, filiform; fertile blades apical, short, folded, 2–8 × 1–3 mm, segments 3–8 pairs, with multicellular hairs along margins. Gametophyte an algalike, branching filament. 2n = 206.


Habitat: Very local in bogs, wet, sandy depressions, crevices of ledges along shores.

Distribution

V2 103-distribution-map.gif

St. Pierre and Miquelon, N.B., Nfld., N.S., Del., N.J., N.Y.

Discussion

One of the most famous plants of the New Jersey Pine Barrens, this peculiar little plant has attracted much interest (W. H. Wagner Jr. 1963). It is abundant in southern Newfoundland. Plants from eastern Canada are shorter and denser than those from New Jersey. The same or a closely related species has been reported from Peru (R. G. Stolze 1987).

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.