Trichomanes reniforme
| Trichomanes reniforme | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Pteridophyta |
| Class: | Polypodiopsida / Pteridopsida (disputed) |
| Order: | Hymenophyllales |
| Family: | Hymenophyllaceae |
| Genus: | Trichomanes |
| Species: | T. reniforme |
| Binomial name | |
| Trichomanes reniforme G.Forst. | |
Description
Trichomanes reniforme is a fern distinctive for its undivided kidney shaped fronds which are its most recognisable feature and what give the plant its English common name, the kidney fern.[1] The fronds, or laminae, are 3–10 cm by 4–13 cm and are a shiny, translucent green.[2] The translucent nature of the kidney fern’s fronds is due to them being very thin, only one cell thick as a sporeling, which increases to 3-4 cells when the plant reaches maturity.[1] The fronds are supported on brittle stipes 5–25 cm in length.[2] Mature plants have a row of sori (a collection of sporangia) crowning the upper margin of their frond, where they resemble a row of small brown pegs.[3] A unique feature of Trichomanes reniforme is its ability to curl up tightly during dry conditions in order to avoid moisture loss, an ability that gives rise to one of its Māori common names, kopakopa (to wrap or clasp).[4] After rain or when conditions improve it unfurls and recovers completely.[4]
Distribution
Natural global range
Trichomanes reniforme is endemic to New Zealand, meaning it is native to and found only in New Zealand.[5] Other members of the Trichomanes genus can be found throughout the world as well as New Zealand.[2]
New Zealand range
Trichomanes reniforme is found throughout the North Island and West Coast of the South Island, as well as Stewart Island and the Chatham Islands.[2] On the eastern side of the South Island it is very rare and localised.[3]
Habitat preferences
Trichomanes reniforme is found in a wide range of habitats from wet forests to lava fields,[2] however it is most frequently found in moister forests up to an altitude of 780 meters.[1] This preference for moist forest is likely the cause of its absence from most of the eastern side of the South Island, however its ability to curl up is what gives it a tolerance to a wide range of habitats.[4] Trichomanes reniforme inhabits the forest floor where it will often form extensive mats, as well as on banks, rocks, fallen trees and as an epiphyte on lower trunks and branches.[2]
Life cycle/Phenology
Like all members of the Trichomanes genus, Trichomanes reniforme reproduce and disperse offspring through spores. They have tubular indusia (spore protecting structures) that stick out from the edge of the fronds. Stalks carrying sori, with sporangia that develop sequentially from base to apex, grow out of the indusia until at plant maturity they emerge and release their spores. Trichomanes reniforme also spread by vegetative reproduction, putting out far-creeping rhizomes (an underground stem that puts out adventitious shoots and roots) that form the distinctive mats of fronds on the forest floor.[2] Little else grows in mats of Trichomanes reniformeas the rhizomes produce a compound inhibiting the root growth of seedlings of other species[4]
Diet and foraging
The lifecycle of the fern could not occur without damp soil as its spores prefer a moist environment.[6] As Trichomanes reniforme mainly inhabits moist forests it requires a relatively damp soil however the kidney fern is poikilohydric [7] and has adapted to a variety of habitats. This has given it the ability to store water in drier weather, which it does by shrivelling up and expanding again once rain returns.[8]
Predators, Parasites, and Diseases
The caterpillars from the moth family Tortricidae are known to feed on Trichomanes reniforme.[4] The caterpillars of these filmy-fern leaf-tyer moths can be found in silk tubes attached to the plants fronds, which may have been woven together or bent inwards to protect the caterpillar from predation.[4] Due to the specific climatic and soil conditions that ferns require human based threats to their survival include habitat loss through forest clearance and introduced invasive plants.[9]
Other Information
The two synonyms for Trichomanes reniforme are Cardiomanes reniforme and Hymenophyllum nephrophyllum. Cardiomanes arises from the Greek kardia (heart) and manos (thin) whilst Hymenophyllum arises from the Greek nephron (kidney-shaped) and phyllus (leaved).[1] Both are references to the shape of the fronds. Trichomanes reniforme has several traditional uses to Māori including being a treatment for bowel disorders (however this is disputed), a perfume plant and also worn during mourning.[4] Other Māori common names for Trichomanes reniforme are konehu and raurenga.[2]
References
- 1 2 3 4 Brownsey, P. J., & Perrie L. R. (2016). Flora of New Zealand, Ferns and Lycophytes, Hymenophyllaceae
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Brownsey, P. J., & Smith-Dodsworth, J. C. (2000). New Zealand Ferns and Allied Plants. Auckland: David Bateman.
- 1 2 Metcalf, L. (2003). A Photographic Guide to the Ferns of New Zealand. Auckland: New Holland Publishers.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Crowe, A. (2009) Which Native Fern?. Hong Kong: Penguin Books
- ↑ Firth, E., Firth, M., & Firth, E. (1986). Ferns of New Zealand. Auckland: Hodder and Stoughton Ltd.
- ↑ C. J. Goudey (1988). A Handbook of Ferns; for Australia and New Zealand. Melbourne, Australia: Lothian Publishing Company Pty Ltd
- ↑ K. Mehltreter, L. R. Walker & J. M. Sharpe (2011). Fern Ecology. United States of America: Cambridge University Press
- ↑ B. Parkinson (2000). Common Ferns and Fern Allies. Auckland, New Zealand: Reed Publishing
- ↑ Department of Conservation. (n.d.). New Zealand Ferns. Retrieved 3/4/2016 from http://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-plants/ferns/