Flora of North America species comparison

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Pityrogramma calomelanos

Pityrogramma calomelanos var. calomelanos

Dixie silverback fern, silverback fern
Photo is of parent taxon
Leaves

25–120 cm.
Petiole

black, dull, glabrous or sparsely scaly proximally.
Blade

elongate-triangular to ovate-lanceolate, 2-pinnate-pinnatifid, sometimes 3-pinnate proximally, densely white-farinose abaxially.
Pinnae

narrowly triangular, pinnately lobed or divided, flat surfaces in plane of blade.
Spores

with perispore reticulate and with equatorial flange.
Pinnules

short-stalked or sessile, lanceolate, margins serrate to lobed near base.

Pityrogramma calomelanos

Pityrogramma calomelanos var. calomelanos
Habitat Ditches in forested areas
Elevation 0–20 m (0–100 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
FL; primarily Neotropics; Africa
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
FL; Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies in the Antilles; widely naturalized in tropical Africa [Introduced in North America]
Discussion

Varieties 3 (1 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Pityrogramma calomelanos var. calomelanos is commonly cultivated in greenhouses. In Florida, it is known from a small number of sites in Hillsborough and Polk counties, where it possibly escaped from cultivation. Pityrogramma calomelanos var. austroamericana (Domin) Farwell (Costa Rica to Brazil) is characterized by yellow farina; P. calomelanos var. ochracea (C. Presl) R. M. Tryon (Honduras to Bolivia) possesses scattered trichomes instead of farinose indument.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 2. FNA vol. 2.
Parent taxa Pteridaceae > Pityrogramma Pteridaceae > Pityrogramma > Pityrogramma calomelanos
Sibling taxa
P. trifoliata
Subordinate taxa
P. calomelanos var. calomelanos
Synonyms Acrostichum calomelanos
Name authority (Linnaeus) Link: Handbuch 3. (1833) (Linnaeus) Link
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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