Royal fern

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Royal fern
King fern (Osmunda regalis)

King fern ( Osmunda regalis )

Systematics
Ferns
Class : True ferns (Polypodiopsida)
Order : Royal ferns (Osmundales)
Family : King fern family (Osmundaceae)
Genre : King ferns ( Osmunda )
Type : Royal fern
Scientific name
Osmunda regalis
L.

The royal fern ( Osmunda regalis ), also called common panicle fern or royal panicle fern, is a species of the royal ferns ( Osmunda ) within the family of the royal ferns (Osmundaceae). Osmunda regalis is the only European species of the genus royal ferns ( Osmunda ).

description

Illustration from Billeder af nordens flora, 1917
frond
Fertile part of the frond

The king fern is a stately, perennial herbaceous plant that reaches heights of up to 160, rarely up to 200 centimeters. Several upright frond leaves with long stalks develop from the rhizome every year. The sterile , light green leaf parts are double pinnate and grow spread out. In contrast to many other ferns, the spore carriers ( Sori from sporangia ) are not located on the underside of the leaves. Instead, separated from the sterile leaf parts, the pinna in the upper area of ​​the frond leaves are transformed into rust-brown, exclusively sporangia-like, arranged sections. This strict functional division into a green, sterile nutrient sheet and a brown, fertile spore sheet is interpreted as a very ancient trait compared to other, more "modern" fern species. The simple, forked veins of the leaflets are interpreted as such.

The spore ripening takes place in the months of June and July. The spores are designed to germinate quickly and do not tolerate a long dry period. In autumn the frond leaves become obsolete; the above-ground parts of the plant die off.

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 44.

Occurrence

The distribution of Osmunda regalis is cosmopolitan in the temperate areas of the northern and southern hemispheres . In Europe, the western part is mainly settled.

This article or paragraph presents the situation in Germany . Help us to describe the situation in other countries.

Within Germany, a clear focus can be seen in the Atlantic, mild winter climate region in the northwestern lowlands. The king fern is usually absent in low mountain ranges. The species is considered to be “critically endangered” due to population decline as a result of biotope destruction and is under nature conservation (including “particularly protected” according to the Federal Species Protection Ordinance ).

The king fern occurs in light places in swamp forests , between willow and gale bushes , in and on ditches and on moist, shady forest edges on acidic, peaty-humic, alternately moist to waterlogged, moderately nutrient-poor, base-poor sandy, clay and fens soils. The plant is therefore considered to be a penumbra and wet indicator. He is a character species of the Sphagno-Alnetum from the Alnion association.

literature

  • Eckhard Garve: Atlas of the endangered fern and flowering plants in Lower Saxony and Bremen (=  nature conservation and landscape management in Lower Saxony . Volume 30 ). 1994, ISBN 3-922321-68-2 .
  • Henning Haeupler, Thomas Muer: picture atlas of the fern and flowering plants of Germany . Ed .: Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (=  The fern and flowering plants of Germany . Volume 2 ). Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 2000, ISBN 3-8001-3364-4 .
  • Henning Haeupler, Peter Schönfelder: Atlas of the fern and flowering plants of the Federal Republic of Germany. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-8001-3434-9 .
  • Bruno P. Kremer, Hermann Muhle: lichens, mosses, ferns (Steinbach's natural guide). Mosaik, Munich 1991, ISBN 3-576-10762-2 .
  • Lexicon of Biology. Volume 5, Katabiosis to Mimus. Herder, Freiburg 1985, ISBN 3-451-19645-X .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Osmunda regalis L., King's Panicle Fern. In: FloraWeb.de.
  2. ↑ a b Erich Oberdorfer : Plant-sociological excursion flora for Germany and neighboring areas . With the collaboration of Angelika Schwabe and Theo Müller. 8th, heavily revised and expanded edition. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 2001, ISBN 3-8001-3131-5 , pp.  71 .

Web links

Commons : Osmunda regalis  - collection of images, videos and audio files