Blechnum
| Blechnum | ||||||||||||
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 Blechnum cordatum | ||||||||||||
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Blechnum (hard fern) is a genus of between 150-220 species of ferns in the family Blechnaceae, with a cosmopolitan distribution. By far the greatest species diversity is in tropical regions of the Southern Hemisphere, with only a few species reaching cool temperate latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere (notably B. penna-marina, south to Cape Horn, Chile, the southernmost fern in the world) and Northern Hemisphere (notably B. spicant, north to Iceland and northern Norway).
Most are herbaceous plants, but a few species (e.g. B. buchtienii and B. schomburgkii in Ecuador) are tree ferns with stems up to 3 m tall.
- Selected species
- Blechnum brasiliense Desv.
- Blechnum buchtienii Rosenst.
- Blechnum cordatum (Desv.) Hieron. (syn. B. chilense)
- Blechnum fluviatile
- Blechnum gibbum
- Blechnum lanceola Sw.
- Blechnum nipponicum (Kunze) Makino
- Blechnum obtusatum (Labill.) Mett.
- Blechnum occidentale L.
- Blechnum orientale L.
- Blechnum penna-marina (Poir.) Kuhn
- Blechnum schomburgkii (Klotzsch) C. Chr.
- Blechnum serrulatum Rich.
- Blechnum spicant (L.) Sm.
- Blechnum vittatum Brack.
- Blechnum volubile Kaulf.
Cultivation and uses
Several species are grown as ornamental plants in gardens.
References
- Germplasm Resources Information Network: Blechnum
- Flora of North America: Blechnum
- Trees and shrubs in the Andes of Ecuador: Blechnum
- Flora of China: Blechnum species list
- Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan.
- Moore, D. M. (1983). Flora of Tierra del Fuego.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; from the article "Blechnum". Image Credit.
