Flora of North America species comparison

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Polystichum lonchitis

Polystichum lemmonii

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

Lemmon's holly fern, Lemmon's sword fern, Shasta fern, Shasta sword fern
Stems

erect to occasionally ascending.

decumbent to ascending.
Leaves

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

bulblets absent.

erect, 1–3.5 dm;

bulblets absent.
Petiole

1/10–1/6 of blade, densely scaly;

scales light brown, gradually diminishing in size distally.

1/5–1/4 length of leaf, sparsely scaly;

scales pale tan, abruptly diminishing in size distally.
Blade

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

narrowly lanceolate, 2-pinnate, scarcely narrowed at base.
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.

ovate, overlapping, folded inward and twisted horizontally, 0.5–2 cm;

base truncate to oblique, proximal acroscopic pinnules not enlarged;

apex broadly acute;

microscales narrowly lanceolate, with few projections, sparse, ± confined to costa of both surfaces.
Indusia

entire or minutely dentate-erose.

entire or minutely dentate-erose.
Spores

dark brown.

dark brown to blackish.
Pinnules

± stalked, rounded, acroscopic auricle not well developed, margins entire to weakly dentate, apex rounded.
2n

= 82.

= 82.

Polystichum lonchitis

Polystichum lemmonii
Habitat In rock crevices or at base of boulders, mostly in boreal and subalpine coniferous forests or alpine regions On rocky serpentine slopes
Elevation 0–3200 m (0–10500 ft) 1200–2400 m (3900–7900 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
CA; OR; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[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 lemmonii forms sterile hybrids with P. scopulinum and P. munitum. The first hybrid may be abundant where the two parents grow together, which they frequently do in the Wenatchee Mountains of Washington and Siskiyou Mountains of northern California and southwest Oregon. The hybrid is very similar to P. lemmonii but has malformed sporangia and slightly less divided pinnae than P. lemmonii. The P. lemmonii × P. munitum hybrid is morphologically indistinguishable from P. scopulinum; it is a sterile diploid reported only twice from the Wenatchee Mountains of Washington (W. H. Wagner Jr. 1973; P. S. Soltis et al. 1989). It is possible that this hybrid involves P. imbricans and not P. munitum; neither study distinguished between them.

American authors have misapplied the name Polystichum mohrioides (Bory) C. Presl, a South American species, to P. lemmonii.

(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. kwakiutlii, P. lonchitis, P. microchlamys, P. munitum, P. scopulinum, P. setigerum
Synonyms Polypodium lonchitis P. mohrioides var. lemmonii
Name authority (Linnaeus) Roth: Tent. Fl. Germ. 3(1): 71. (1799) L. Underwood: Native Ferns ed. 6 116. (1900)
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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