'' Davallia'' (deersfoot fern, hare's foot fern, shinobu fern, rabbit foot fern, ball fern) is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of about 40

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes exce ...

. In the

Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group The Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group, or PPG, is an informal international group of systematic botanists who collaborate to establish a consensus on the classification of pteridophytes ( lycophytes and ferns) that reflects knowledge about plant relatio ...

classification of 2016 (PPG I), it is the only genus in the family Davalliaceae, which is placed in the suborder

Polypodiineae Polypodiineae is a suborder of ferns in the order Polypodiales. It is equivalent to the clade eupolypods I in earlier systems, and to the very broadly defined family Polypodiaceae in the classification of Christenhusz & Chase (2014). It probably ...

, order

Polypodiales The order Polypodiales encompasses the major lineages of polypod ferns, which comprise more than 80% of today's fern species. They are found in many parts of the world including tropical, semitropical and temperate areas. Description Polypodiale ...

. Alternatively, the family may be placed in a very broadly defined family

Polypodiaceae Polypodiaceae is a family of ferns. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), the family includes around 65 genera and an estimated 1,650 species and is placed in the order Polypodiales, suborder Polypodiineae. A broade ...

sensu lato ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular c ...

'' as the subfamily Davallioideae. The family is

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a family, familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...

to the largest family of ferns, Polypodiaceae, and shares some morphological

characters Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

with it.Karl U. Kramer. 1990. "Davalliaceae". pages 74-80. In: Klaus Kubitzki (general editor); Karl U. Kramer and Peter S. Green (volume editors) ''The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants'' volume I. Springer-Verlag: Berlin;Heidelberg, Germany. Species are

epiphytic An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

ferns, with

frond A frond is a large, divided leaf. In both common usage and botanical nomenclature, the leaves of ferns are referred to as fronds and some botanists restrict the term to this group. Other botanists allow the term frond to also apply to the lar ...

s arising from long aerial rhizomes which grow on and over thick bark on

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s or on rock crevices.

Description

Usually

or epipetric. Rhizomes dictyostelic,

dorsiventral A dorsiventral (Lat. ''dorsum'', "the back", ''venter'', "the belly") organ is one that has two surfaces differing from each other in appearance and structure, as an ordinary leaf. This term has also been used as a synonym for dorsoventral organs, ...

, densely scaly. Stipes articulate at base. Phyllopodia short.

veins Veins are blood vessels in humans and most other animals that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are the pulmonary and umbilical veins, both of which carry oxygenated b ...

free. Sporangium stalk 3-rowed. Annulus vertical. Spores monolete.

Taxonomy

Gymnogrammitis ''Gymnogrammitis'' is a genus of ferns in the subfamily Drynarioideae of the family Polypodiaceae according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), with a single species ''Gymnogrammitis dareiformis''. Taxonomy T ...

'' and '' Leucostegia'' were once included in Davalliaceae, but these are now known to belong elsewhere. ''Gymnogrammitis'' is in a clade with '' Selliguea'' and others in the family Polypodiaceae.Harald Schneider, Alan R. Smith, Raymond Cranfill, Christopher H. Haufler, Tom A. Ranker, and Terri J. Hildebrand. 2002. "''Gymnogrammitis dareiformis'' is a polygrammoid fern (Polypodiacee) - Resolving an apparent conflict between morphological and molecular data". ''Plant Systematics and Evolution'' 234(1-4):121-136. ''Leucostegia'' is in the family Hypodematiaceae, which consists of '' Hypodematium'' and ''Leucostegia'',Hong-Mei Liu, Xian-Chun Zhang, Wei Wang, Yin-Long Qiu, and Zhi-Duan Chen. 2007. "Molecular Phylogeny of the Fern Family Dryopteridaceae inferred from Chloroplast rbcL and atpB Genes". ''International Journal of Plant Sciences'' 168(9):1311-1323. and possibly '' Didymochlaena'' as well. In 2008, a molecular phylogenetic study of Davalliaceae showed that none of the polyspecific genera recognized at that time were monophyletic.Chie Tsutsumi, Xian-Chun Zhang, and Masahiro Kato. 2008. "Molecular Phylogeny of Davalliaceae and Implications for Generic Classification". ''Systematic Botany'' 33(1):44-48. In that same year, a revision of the family divided it into five genera. One of these, ''Araiostegiella'', was newly described. The genus ''Davallia'' was divided into two sections, named ''Davallia'' and ''Trogostolon''. Based on molecular phylogenetic studies, the

classification of 2016 (PPG I) accepts only one genus in the family, ''Davallia'', sinking the other genera into synonymy. The study on which the PPG I

circumscription Circumscription may refer to: *Circumscribed circle * Circumscription (logic) *Circumscription (taxonomy) *Circumscription theory, a theory about the origins of the political state in the history of human evolution proposed by the American anthrop ...

is based divides the genus into seven sections.

Phylogeny

The following cladogram for the suborder

(eupolypods I), based on the consensus cladogram in the

classification of 2016 (PPG I), shows a likely

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

relationship between Davalliaceae and the other families of the clade.

Selected species

Many of the species of ''Davallia'' are closely related and hard to

distinguish The ruling made by the judge or panel of judges must be based on the evidence at hand and the standard binding precedents covering the subject-matter (they must be ''followed''). Definition In law, to distinguish a case means a court decides th ...

from each other. In 1990, a treatment of Davalliaceae estimated the number of species at 110. A 2008

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distrib ...

listed all of the species, recognizing only 63.Masahiro Kato and Chie Tsutsumi. 2008. "Generic Classification of Davalliaceae". ''Acta Phytotaxonomica et Geobotanica'' 59(1):1-14. A new species, '' Davallia napoensis'' was described in 2011.Fa-Guo Wang, Hong-Feng Chen, and Fu-Wu Xing. 2011. "''Davallia napoensis'', a New Species of Davalliaceae from Guangxi, China". ''Novon'' 21(3):380-384. The

classification of 2016 (PPG I) suggests there are about 65 species. * '' Davallia bullata'' - Japan, China, and tropical

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

. * '' Davallia canariensis'' -

Macaronesia Macaronesia (Portuguese: ''Macaronésia,'' Spanish: ''Macaronesia'') is a collection of four volcanic archipelagos in the North Atlantic, off the coasts of Africa and Europe. Each archipelago is made up of a number of Atlantic oceanic islands ...

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...

and

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

. * '' Davallia denticulata'' - Africa, India, China, Malesia, Indonesia, Polynesia, Australia * '' Davallia divaricata'' ( syn.: ''Davallia polyantha'') - Tropical

. * '' Davallia embolostegia'' * '' Davallia fejeensis'' Hook ( syn.: ''Davallia fijiensis'') -

Fiji Islands Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

and Australia. * '' Davallia mariesii'' or "Squirrel's-foot fern" – tropical Asia and Malaysia * '' Davallia pectinata'' * '' Davallia repens'' * '' Davallia solida'' -

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

Polynesia Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...

, and

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

. ** '' Davallia solida var. pyxidata'' -

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

** ''Davallia solida'' var. ''fejeensis'' (Hook.) Noot. - endemic to Fiji * '' Davallia tasmanii'' - Davallia fern, native to the

Three Kings Islands 3 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 3, three, or III may also refer to: * AD 3, the third year of the AD era * 3 BC, the third year before the AD era * March, the third month Books * '' Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 190 ...

. * '' Davallia trichomanoides'' ( syn.: ''Davallia dissecta'') - Malaysia.

Distribution and habitat

Davalliaceae is

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

and subtropical regions of the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

, Australia,

, and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

.Alan R. Smith, Kathleen M. Pryer, Eric Schuettpelz, Petra Korall, Harald Schneider, and Paul G. Wolf. 2008. "Davalliaceae". pages 443-444. In: "Fern Classification". pages 417-467. In: Tom A. Ranker and Christopher H. Haufler (editors). ''Biology and Evolution of Ferns and Lycophytes''. Cambridge University Press. Plants are usually

, sometimes

lithophytic Lithophytes are plants that grow in or on rocks. They can be classified as either epilithic (or epipetric) or endolithic; epilithic lithophytes grow on the surfaces of rocks, while endolithic lithophytes grow in the crevices of rocks (and are als ...

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...

''Davallia'' as house plants

Many species of ''Davallia'' are in cultivation,

Anthony Huxley Anthony Julian Huxley (2 December 1920 – 26 December 1992) was a British botanist. He edited ''Amateur Gardening'' from 1967 to 1971, and was vice-president of the Royal Horticultural Society in 1991. He was the son of Julian Huxley. He was ...

, Mark Griffiths, and Margot Levy (1992). ''The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening''. The Macmillan Press,Limited: London. The Stockton Press: New York. (set). with '' Davallia tyermanii'', '' Davallia fejeensis'', and '' Davallia solida'' being perhaps the most well-known.George W. Staples and Derral R. Herbst. 2005. "A Tropical Garden Flora" Bishop Museum Press: Honolulu, HI, USA. A key to the cultivated species of ''Davallia'' is available.Barbara Joe Hoshizaki. 1981. "The fern genus ''Davallia'' in cultivation". ''Baileya'' 21(1):1-42. ''D. polypodiaceae'', ''D. canariensis'' and ''D. trichomanoides'' are also grown as

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...

s.Perry, Leonard, ''Davillia'', http://pss.uvm.edu/pss123/ferndav.html ''D. fejeensis'' is the most common ''Davallia'' species in commerce, and ''D. canariensis'' is widely grown as a

house plant A houseplant, sometimes known as a pot plant, potted plant, or an indoor plant, is an ornamental plant that is grown indoors. As such, they are found in places like residences and offices, mainly for decorative purposes. Common houseplants are us ...

. The plants have furry rhizomes which cover the surface of the potting mixture as well as root down into it. The fronds are triangular in shape and about 1½ feet long by 1 foot wide. They divide into three to four

pinnae The auricle or auricula is the visible part of the ear that is outside the head. It is also called the pinna (Latin for "wing" or " fin", plural pinnae), a term that is used more in zoology. Structure The diagram shows the shape and location ...

which subdivide into many pinnules. ''Davallia'' are often used in hanging baskets because the rhizomes split into sections and the surface is covered quickly. Unlike other ferns, ''Davallia'' tolerate low levels of humidity.Reader's Digest. Success with House Plants. The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. 1979:173

References

*Lorenzi, H. & Souza, M. S. (2001). ''Plantas Ornamentais no Brasil: arbustivas, herbáceas e trepadeiras.'
Plantarum
*Key, K. & Baines, J. (1974). ''El ABC de las Plantas de Interior.'' Blume *Hay, R., McQuown G., & Beckett, K. (1976). ''Diccionario ilustrado en color de plantas de interior.'' Gustavo Gili *Hellyer, A. (1976). ''The Collingridge Encyclopedia of Gardening.'' Hamlyn *Bornhorst, Heidi. ''Davallia fern has many names, various uses.'' Honolulu Advertiser, November 11, 2001

(accessed October 8, 2015)

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2390278 Davalliaceae Epiphytes Fern genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus