Flora of North America species comparison

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Polystichum microchlamys

Polystichum lemmonii

attu hollyfern

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

erect.

decumbent to ascending.
Leaves

arching, 3–8 dm;

bulblets absent.

erect, 1–3.5 dm;

bulblets absent.
Petiole

1/8–1/4 length of leaf, densely scaly;

scales brown, diminishing in size distally.

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

scales pale tan, abruptly diminishing in size distally.
Blade

broadly lanceolate, 1-pinnate-pinnatifid, base slightly narrowed.

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

narrowly lanceolate, not overlapping, in 1 plane, 3–13 cm;

base oblique, proximal acroscopic segments enlarged;

margins incised to costa but segments sessile and adnate to costa for at least 2 mm, segments excised and decurrent, serrulate-spiny with teeth spreading to ascending;

apex acute with subapical and apical teeth same size;

microscales filiform, dense abaxially, sparse adaxially.

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

erose-dentate.

entire or minutely dentate-erose.
Spore(s)

color unknown.

dark brown to blackish.
Pinnules

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

= 82.

Polystichum microchlamys

Polystichum lemmonii
Habitat Terrestrial On rocky serpentine slopes
Elevation 0–100 m (0–300 ft) 1200–2400 m (3900–7900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; Asia in Kamtchatka and Japan
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; OR; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Polystichum microchlamys is found in the flora only on Attu, at the western tip of the Aleutian Archipelago.

(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. lonchitis, 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 Aspidium microchlamys P. mohrioides var. lemmonii
Name authority (H. Christ) Matsumura: Index Pl. Jap. 1: 343. (1904) 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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