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Fern sports are plants that show marked change from the normal type or parent stock as a result of mutation. The term
Retrieved : 2011-07-22 Scaly Male Fern
File:Lady Fern frond - normal appearance.jpg, Normal Lady Fern frond appearance.
File:Sport - Lady Fern frond tip.jpg, Lady Fern sport.
File:Sport - Lady Fern pinna.jpg, Lady Fern pinna showing abnormal tips.
File:Lady fern sport - underside of frond.jpg, Lady Fern sport showing lower surface with normal sori.
File:Chirosia betuleti, Knotting Gall on the fern Dryopteris dilatata.jpg, A Knotting gall on Broad buckler fern.
File:Hartstongue - Normal frond and tip.jpg, Normal frond.
File:Hartstongue - sori.jpg, Underside of fern sport showing normal sori and indusia.
File:Sport - multiply branched Hartstongue.jpg, Hart's Tongue sport with multiple frond-tip branches.
;Misidentification
Galls on ferns and other physical damage to fern fronds can be mistaken as sports, however this is usually asymmetric, ferns generally being bilaterally symmetrical. In ''Athyrium'' and ''Dryopteris'' species white maggots of ''Chirosia betuleti'' create mop-head galls on fern frond tips that look somewhat like fern sports, however this is physical damage and not a growth form.Redfern, Page 288
Ferns sports {{Commons category, Fern sports Ferns Plant anatomy Plant morphology
Fern sports are plants that show marked change from the normal type or parent stock as a result of mutation. The term Morphotype
In biology, polymorphism is the occurrence of two or more clearly different morphs or forms, also referred to as alternative ''phenotypes'', in the population of a species. To be classified as such, morphs must occupy the same habitat at the s ...
is also used for any of a group of different types of individuals of the same species in a population. Fern 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 in sports are typically altered in several ways, such as the frond apex divided and pinnae similarly duplicated.
Occurrence
Soft Shield Fern ''Polystichum setiferum
''Polystichum setiferum'', the soft shield fern, is an evergreen or semi-evergreen fern native to southern and western Europe. The stalks and most midribs are coated with attractive cinnamon-brown scales. The Latin specific epithet ''setiferum'' ...
'', Lady Fern ''Athyrium filix-femina
''Athyrium filix-femina'', the lady fern or common lady-fern, is a large, feathery species of fern native to temperate Asia, Europe, North Africa, Canada and the USA. It is often abundant (one of the more common ferns) in damp, shady woodland env ...
'' and Hart's Tongue Fern ''Asplenium scolopendrium
''Asplenium scolopendrium'', commonly known as the hart's-tongue fern, is an evergreen fern in the genus ''Asplenium'' native to the Northern Hemisphere.
Description
The most striking and unusual feature of the fern is its simple, undivided fron ...
'' are known to have around three hundred varieties or sports.Peter D. A. Boyd's PteridomaniaRetrieved : 2011-07-22 Scaly Male Fern
Dryopteris affinis
''Dryopteris affinis'', the scaly male fern or golden-scaled male fern, is a fern native to western and southern Europe and southwestern Asia. It is most abundant on moist soils in woodlands in areas with high humidity, such as the British Isles ...
and Male Fern Dryopteris filix-mas have a number of commercially available and naturally occurring sports or subspecies. Examples are ''D. affinis polydactyla Dadds'', ''A. filix-femina plumosum'', ''A. filix-femina corymbiferum'', and ''D. filix-mas Barnesii''
;Lady Fern (''Athyrium filix-femina'')
Characteristics
The frond of a sport may be branched at the tip and at the tips of the pinna, the colour may vary, and variegation may occur; fronds generally remain bilaterally symmetrical. Ferns sports remain normal in certain respects, such as viability with sori andindusia
A sorus (pl. sori) is a cluster of sporangia (structures producing and containing spores) in ferns and fungi. A coenosorus (plural coenosori) is a compound sorus composed of multiple, fused sori.
Etymology
This New Latin word is from Ancient Gr ...
appearing normal. The frond stipe may be a different colour.
;Hart's Tongue fern (''Asplenium scolopendrium'')
Galls on ferns and other physical damage to fern fronds can be mistaken as sports, however this is usually asymmetric, ferns generally being bilaterally symmetrical. In ''Athyrium'' and ''Dryopteris'' species white maggots of ''Chirosia betuleti'' create mop-head galls on fern frond tips that look somewhat like fern sports, however this is physical damage and not a growth form.Redfern, Page 288
Rarity
Ferns sports particularly suffered during theVictorian-era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardi ...
Pteridomania
Pteridomania or fern fever was a Victorian craze for ferns. Decorative arts of the period presented the fern motif in pottery, glass, metal, textiles, wood, printed paper, and sculpture, with ferns "appearing on everything from christening ...
('Fern-Fever') craze, when over collecting of fern species included over collecting unusual fern varieties.
See also
* Chirosia betuleti, Knotting gallReferences
;Notes ;Sources * Redfern, Margaret & Shirley, Peter (2002). ''British Plant Galls. Identification of galls on plants & fungi''. AIDGAP. Shrewsbury : Field Studies Council. .External links
Ferns sports {{Commons category, Fern sports Ferns Plant anatomy Plant morphology