Thyrsopteris elegans
| Thyrsopteris elegans | ||||||||||||
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Thyrsopteris elegans , illustration |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the family | ||||||||||||
| Thyrsopteridaceae | ||||||||||||
| C. Presl | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Thyrsopteris | ||||||||||||
| Kunze | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Thyrsopteris elegans | ||||||||||||
| Kunze |
Thyrsopteris elegans is a representative of the tree ferns (Cyatheales). The species is the only one of the genus Thyrsopteris and the family Thyrsopteridaceae . It occurs only on the Juan Fernández Islands off the coast of Chile .
features
The rhizomes are ascending or upright and have a Solenostele . They form runners and are covered with stiff, multicellular hair. The leaves are 2 to 3.5 m long, three to five pinnate and partly dimorphic: the Sori are often limited to the proximal leaf segments. The leaf axes are furrowed on the upper side. The nerves end free. The sori stand terminally on the nerves, the outer and inner indusia are fused and form asymmetrical, cup-shaped structures. Each sorus stands on its own, columnar-club-shaped receptaculum. The sporangia have opaque annuli . The spores are spherical to tetrahedral and have clear edges.
The number of chromosomes is x = approx. 78.
distribution
The species is endemic to the Juan Fernández Islands.
Systematics
The exact systematic position of the species is unclear; however, it is clearly related to the tree ferns .
supporting documents
- Alan R. Smith, Kathleen M. Pryer, Eric Schuettpelz, Petra Korall, Harald Schneider, Paul G. Wolf: A classification for extant ferns. In: Taxon. Volume 55, No. 3, 2006, ISSN 0040-0262 , pp. 705-731, abstract, PDF file .
