Flora of North America species comparison

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Polystichum lonchitis

Polystichum kwakiutlii

holly fern, mountain fern, northern holly fern, polystic faux-lonchitis

kwakiutl's hollyfern
Stems

erect to occasionally ascending.

unknown.
Leaves

erect, not arching except at tip, 1–6 dm;

bulblets absent.

(only distal portion known) with bulblets present.
Petiole

1/10–1/6 of blade, densely scaly;

scales light brown, gradually diminishing in size distally.

Blade

linear, often widest above middle, 1-pinnate, base narrowed.

lanceolate, 2-pinnate, base probably narrowed.
Pinnae

oblong to lanceolate to falcate, proximal pinnae ± deltate, rarely overlapping, in 1 plane, 0.5–3 cm, base truncate to oblique, acroscopic auricle well developed;

margins serrulate-spiny with teeth spreading;

apex acute, subapical tooth hardly smaller than apical tooth;

microscales dense, on abaxial surface only.

narrowly lanceolate, ca. 2–7 cm, base truncate to oblique, acroscopic proximal pinnule enlarged, apex obtuse.
Indusia

entire or minutely dentate-erose.

entire.
Spores

dark brown.

Pinnules

short-stalked, ovate-rhombic, acroscopic auricle ± well developed, margins finely spiny-dentate;

apex acuminate;

microscales filiform, lacking projections, dense abaxially, sparse adaxially.
2n

= 82.

Polystichum lonchitis

Polystichum kwakiutlii
Habitat In rock crevices or at base of boulders, mostly in boreal and subalpine coniferous forests or alpine regions Habitat unknown.
Elevation 0–3200 m (0–10500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; AZ; CA; CO; ID; MI; MN; MT; NV; OR; UT; WA; WI; WY; AB; BC; NF; NS; ON; QC; YT; Greenland
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
BC; Of conservation concern
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

The hybrid between Polystichum lonchitis and P. acrostichoides (= P. × hagenahii Cody) is discussed under P. acrostichoides. The hybrid with P. braunii (= P. × meyeri Sleep & Reichstein) is discussed under P. braunii. In the Georgian Bay area of Ontario, P. lonchitis hybridizes with Dryopteris goldieana to produce the peculiar × Dryostichum singulare W. H. Wagner (W. H. Wagner Jr., F. S. Wagner et al. 1992).

The spiny spores of P. lonchitis are distinctive and distinguish this from dwarfed forms of other 1-pinnate species.

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

Polystichum kwakiutlii is known only from the type specimen, collected at Alice Arm, British Columbia (whether referring to inlet or town is unknown). This species is presumed to be one of the diploid progenitors of P. andersonii. It should be sought among the boreal 2-pinnate polystichums, from which it can be distinguished by the presence of bulblets. Polystichum kwakiutlii differs from P. andersonii in its completely divided pinnae and entire indusia.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 2. FNA vol. 2.
Parent taxa Dryopteridaceae > Polystichum Dryopteridaceae > Polystichum
Sibling taxa
P. acrostichoides, P. aleuticum, P. andersonii, P. braunii, P. californicum, P. dudleyi, P. imbricans, P. kruckebergii, P. kwakiutlii, P. lemmonii, P. microchlamys, P. munitum, P. scopulinum, P. setigerum
P. acrostichoides, P. aleuticum, P. andersonii, P. braunii, P. californicum, P. dudleyi, P. imbricans, P. kruckebergii, P. lemmonii, P. lonchitis, P. microchlamys, P. munitum, P. scopulinum, P. setigerum
Synonyms Polypodium lonchitis
Name authority (Linnaeus) Roth: Tent. Fl. Germ. 3(1): 71. (1799) D. H. Wagner: Amer. Fern J. 80: 50, fig. 1. (1990)
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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