Joseph Sanchez

Bio 112

Native Plant

Osmunda Regalis: Common name- Royal Fern

Classification

Kingdom  Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom  Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Division  Pteridophyta – Ferns
Class  Filicopsida
Order  Polypodiales
Family  Osmundaceae – Royal Fern family
Genus  Osmunda L. – osmunda
Species  Osmunda regalis L. – royal fern
Description

Royal fern is a large and dramatic fern that grows from a stout rhizome which creeps along the
ground, then ascends like a stump to give rise to a crownlike tussock of light green leaves. The rootstock,
with its mass of wiry black fibers, can be as much as 12 in (30.5 cm) above the soil line in really large
specimens. Most kinds of ferns bear their reproductive spores on the underside of their leaves, but the
osmunda ferns have their spores in clusters on specialized fronds. Osmunda regalis has two kinds of
fronds: sterile and fertile. Both types are twice divided: the leaflets (pinnae) are divided again into
pinnules that are quite large, nearly 2 in (5.1 cm) long. The whole leaf can be up to 6 ft (1.8 m) long, and
looks more like some kind of mimosa, locust or acacia than a typical fern. The fertile fronds lack leafy
pinnae towards their apex, which is instead covered with attractive clusters of brown sporangia which
bear the spores. Royal fern can be distinguished from the related cinnamon fern (Osmunda
cinnamomea) by its bipinnate leaves, the fertile ones with clusters of sporangia towards the tips.

Unique Features

Royal fern is truly the king of the ferns. It is the largest and most spectacular fern occurring in
North America. The genus is named for Osmunder (also known as Thor), the Saxon god of war. Like the
cinnamon fern, royal fern is listed by The Florida Department of Agriculture as a "Commercially
Exploited Species," which means that it cannot be removed from the wild for commercial purposes
without a permit. Royal fern is, however, legally available from nurseries specializing in native plants.

Location

Dispersed by tiny windblown spores, royal fern has managed to colonize much of the world. This
cosmopolitan fern occurs naturally in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North and South America. In North
America, royal fern occurs in moist woods, floodplains, and swamps from Newfoundland west to
Saskatchewan and south to Louisiana and Florida.

Definitions of Terminology

Spores- A dormant, reproductive cell formed by certain organisms. It is thick-walled and highly resistant
to survive under unfavorable conditions so that when conditions revert to being suitable it gives rise to a
new individual.

Fronds- a leaf especially of a fern, cycad or palm, a leaf-like portion of a non-vascular plant

Apex- The very bottom of the root of your tooth

Fern- An order of cryptogamous plants, the Filices, which have their fructification on the back of the
fronds or leaves. They are usually found in humid soil, sometimes grow epiphytically on trees, and in
tropical climates often attain a gigantic size.