Ophioglossum reticulatum L.

  • Authority

    Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro & collaborators. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78: 1-581.

  • Family

    Ophioglossaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Ophioglossum reticulatum L.

  • Description

    Species Description - Terrestrial fern 10-25 cm tall. Rhizome cylindric, erect, 0.5-l(-2) cm long, bearing persistent thick roots, these not stoloniferous. Fronds solitary or occasionally 2; stipes 5—10(—16) cm long. Sterile blade triangular-ovate to kidney-shaped, 3-6(-10) cm long, nearly sessile or with stalk to 10 mm long, usually broadly and shallowly cordate at base, the apex round, obtuse, or nearly acute; areoles with few to many free or partly joined included veinlets; stalk of fertile segment 5-18 cm long; fertile segment 1-5.5 cm long, usually bearing 20-60 pairs of fused sporangia. Spores 30-60 µ diam.

  • Distribution

    Occasional on shaded banks in moist forests, appearing after seasonal rains. Shaded slopes of Bordeaux Mountain (B536). Also on St. Thomas; pantropical.

    Saint Thomas Virgin Islands of the United States South America| Saint John Virgin Islands of the United States South America|