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

Alaska holly fern, Alaska sword fern

Stems

erect to occasionally ascending.

erect.

Leaves

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

bulblets absent.

arching, 4–10 dm;

bulblets absent.

Petiole

1/10–1/6 of blade, densely scaly;

scales light brown, gradually diminishing in size distally.

1/8–1/5 length of leaf, densely scaly;

scales light brown, gradually diminishing in size distally.

Blade

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

lanceolate, deeply 1-pinnate-pinnatifid to 2-pinnate, base 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.

lanceolate, not overlapping, in 1 plane, 4–8 cm, base oblique, margins incised to costa on middle pinnae, serrulate-spiny with teeth spreading-ascending, apex acute-apiculate with subapical and apical teeth same size;

microscales filiform, sparse abaxially, confined to costa adaxially.

Indusia

entire or minutely dentate-erose.

erose-ciliate.

Spores

dark brown.

brown.

2n

= 82.

= 246.

Polystichum lonchitis

Polystichum setigerum

Habitat In rock crevices or at base of boulders, mostly in boreal and subalpine coniferous forests or alpine regions Forest floor in lowland coastal forests
Elevation 0–3200 m (0–10500 ft) 0–250 m (0–800 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
AK; BC
[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 setigerum is disjunct on Attu Island at the western tip of the Aleutian Archipelago. It is presumed to be of hybrid origin, the result of a cross between P. munitum and P. braunii (D. H. Wagner 1979). This hybrid has been produced experimentally (A. Sleep and T. Reichstein 1967) and is reported from British Columbia (see discussion under P. braunii).

(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. lemmonii, P. lonchitis, P. microchlamys, P. munitum, P. scopulinum
Synonyms Polypodium lonchitis Nephrodium setigerum, P. braunii subsp. alaskense, P. braunii var. alaskense
Name authority (Linnaeus) Roth: Tent. Fl. Germ. 3(1): 71. (1799) (C. Presl) C. Presl: Tent. Pterid. 83. (1836)
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