Acrostichum danaeifolium
Acrostichum aureum
inland leatherfern
golden leatherfern
usually erect, infrequently branched.
creeping or ascending, frequently branched.
ascending or erect, 1.5–5 m × 15–60 cm.
± arching, 1–3 m × 12–50 cm.
20–32(–64), distant to closely spaced, usually overlapping, 7–37 × 1.5–5.5 cm, tapering toward apex, abruptly acute at tip;
costal areoles less than 3 times longer than wide;
most pinnae of fertile leaves bearing sporangia.
24–30(–40), usually not overlapping, 10–34 × 1.3–7 cm;
proximal pinnae always distant, frequently rounded at tip;
costal areoles 3 or more times longer than wide;
distal 6–12 pinnae of fertile leaves bearing sporangia.
spread over abaxial surface of fertile pinnae;
paraphyses stalked, ending with horizontally extended, smooth or little-lobed cell.
spread over abaxial surface of distal pinnae in fertile leaves;
paraphyses stalked, ending with single isodiametric, irregularly lobed cell.
(44–)54(–72) µm diam., surface minutely roughened with small projecting papillae.
(37–)57(–72) µm diam., surface minutely tuberculate.
shallowly grooved abaxially, flat or shallowly grooved adaxially.
rounded abaxially, decidedly grooved adaxially.
= 60.
= 60.
Acrostichum danaeifolium
Acrostichum aureum
These species frequently can be distinguished by the distribution of pinnae, the distribution of fertile pinnae, the shape of the costal areoles, and the structure of the paraphyses. In parts of Florida, their distributions are contiguous and abruptly separated by habitat. Acrosticum aureum is more frequently found in coastal shaded areas, in saline black-mangrove communities, and in the southern and southwestern parts of the state. Acrostichum danaeifolium grows vigorously in full sun and is common and widely distributed in Florida, where it has been collected in virtually every county throughout the southern two-thirds of the state. Hybrids have been produced in the laboratory, although these have not been analyzed cytologically. Hybrids are apparently rare in the field and have been reported only in the Dominican Republic (I. García de López 1978).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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