Woodwardia fimbriata Sm.

Giant chainfern (en)

Species

Pteridophytes > Polypodiales > Blechnaceae > Woodwardioideae > Woodwardia

Characteristics

Stems forming a stout caudex covered with petiole bases, suberect; scales light brown, many, lanceolate-attenuate. Leaves monomorphic, evergreen, numerous in vaselike cluster, 40-170 cm. Petiole straw-colored, sometimes reddish at base; base thickened, with densely set orange scales. Blade pale green, elliptic-lanceolate, 25-100 cm, scaly-glandular upon emergence but soon glabrate. Pinnae not articulate to rachis, in 8-24 pairs, narrowly deltate to lanceolate, pinnatifid; proximal to middle pinnae 12-42 × 2.5-8 cm. Veins anastomosing to form single row of areoles, then free to margin. Sori short and broad, mostly curved and confined to costular areoles, deeply sunken into blades. Indusia cartilaginous and vaulted; cells thickened, retaining configuration after dehiscence of sporangia. 2 n = 68.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support -
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality -
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) 0.5 - 1.0
Mature height (meter) 0.7 - 1.6
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color -
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

Light 4-6
Soil humidity 5-7
Soil texture 1-2
Soil acidity 3-6
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 8-10

Usage

Uses fiber
Edible stems
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by divisions.
Mode divisions
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -12
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Leaf

Woodwardia fimbriata leaf picture by Mel (cc-by-sa)
Woodwardia fimbriata leaf picture by Megan Sweet (cc-by-sa)
Woodwardia fimbriata leaf picture by Greg Froelich (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Woodwardia fimbriata world distribution map, present in Canada, Mexico, and United States of America

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:17365470-1
WFO ID wfo-0001111079
COL ID 5C3C6
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Woodwardia fimbriata Woodwardia chamissoi Woodwardia paradoxa Woodwardia biserrata