Flora of North America species comparison

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Ophioglossum crotalophoroides

bulbous Adder's-tongue
Roots

to 20 per plant, blackish, usually extremely narrow, often almost hairlike, less than 0.1 mm diam., proliferations not reported.
Stems

spheric, 3-12 mm diam., succulent, cormlike with perforation at apex, apical meristem located at bottom of cavity through which leaves emerge at top, leaves 2 per stem.
Trophophore

stalk to 0.6cm, 0.1-0.2 times as long as trophophore blade.;

trophophore blade lying nearly flat on ground, not folded longitudinally, pale green throughout, deltate to cordate, to 3 × 2 cm, contracted abruptly at truncate to cordate base, apex with apiculum.
Venation

coarsely reticulate with included veinlets.
Sporophores

arising at ground level, 1-5 times as long as trophophore;

sporangial clusters usually short, less than 1 cm, 2-3 mm wide, with 3-8 pairs of sporangia, apiculum to 1.5 mm.

Ophioglossum crotalophoroides
Phenology Leaves appearing mainly in late winter and early spring, sometimes also appearing later in season after heavy rains.
Habitat Second-growth fields, vacant lots, roadside ditches, and lawns
Elevation 0-100 m (0-300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; FL; GA; LA; MO; MS; NC; SC; TX; Mexico; Central America; South America; widespread in tropical highlands; West Indies
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Discussion

Ophioglossum crotalophoroides is very remarkable morphologically for its highly modified stem and threadlike nonproliferous roots. The gametophyte is disclike (M.R. Mesler 1973). It is especially common in lawns and cemeteries in the southeastern United States.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 2.
Parent taxa Ophioglossaceae > Ophioglossum
Sibling taxa
O. californicum, O. engelmannii, O. nudicaule, O. petiolatum, O. pusillum, O. vulgatum
Name authority Walter: Fl. Carol. 256. (1788)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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