Polystichum munitum |
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common sword fern, western sword fern |
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Stems | typically short and erect. |
Leaves | robust; to 150 cm; in dense crowns; bulbils absent. |
Petioles | up to 25% leaf length, densely chaffy near base, becoming sparser distally; chaffy scales present along the length of the rachis and costae. |
Blades | 1-pinnate, narrowly lanceolate, tapered to the apex, not or scarcely reduced towards base; microscales lanceolate or narrowly ovate; long-acuminate. |
Pinnae | linear-lanceolate; to approximately 9.5 × 1 cm (above the anterior lobe), often falcate, not overlapping; in 1 plane to twisted; margins serrulate with small, regular spine-tipped teeth; the spines bent forward and parallel to the margin, acroscopic auricle large, broadly triangular to ovate, with a prominently cuspidate apex and lateral teeth similar to those on the pinna margin. |
Sori | with fimbriate/ciliate indusial margins. |
2n | =82. |
Polystichum munitum |
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Distribution | |
Discussion | Understories of moist forests, meadows, rocky sites. 0–2200 m. BW, Casc, CR, ECas, Est, Sisk, WV. CA, ID, WA; north to AK, east to SD. Native. This species is so abundant in the Pacific Northwest that one might forget to look for other pinnate sword ferns. At higher elevations, P. lonchitis is identified by narrowing blade bases and spreading spines on the pinna margins versus scarcely reduced blade bases and incurved spines in P. munitum. On moist, sunny, rocky sites the pinnae of P. munitum may be twisted like venetian blinds, making it look much like P. imbricans ssp. imbricans. Besides the characters listed in the key, these species also differ in the distribution of chaffy scales. In P. imbricans ssp. imbricans, these are concentrated on the proximal portion of the petiole, while in P. munitum they occur all along the length of the petiole and rachis. Polystichum munitum is widely cultivated as an ornamental, and leaves are harvested from Oregon forests for sale to florists. |
Source | Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 76 Duncan Thomas |
Sibling taxa | |
Synonyms | Polystichum munitum var. munitum |
Web links |
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