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''Osmundastrum'' is genus of
leptosporangiate fern The Polypodiidae, commonly called leptosporangiate ferns, formerly Leptosporangiatae, are one of four subclasses of ferns, and the largest of these, being the largest group of living ferns, including some 11,000 species worldwide. The group has ...
s in the family
Osmundaceae Osmundaceae (royal fern family) is a family of ferns containing four to six extant genera and 18–25 known species. It is the only living family of the order Osmundales in the class Polypodiopsida (ferns) or in some classifications the only ord ...
with one living species, ''Osmundastrum cinnamomeum'', the cinnamon fern. It is native to the
Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...
and eastern
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 ...
, growing in swamps, bogs and moist woodlands. In North America it occurs from southern
Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...
west to
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
, and south through the
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United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
to eastern
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
and the
West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...
; in
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...
it occurs west to
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
and south to
Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
. In Asia it occurs from southeastern
Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...
south through Japan,
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, China and
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to
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,
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and
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
. ''Osmundastrum cinnamomeum'' has a fossil record extending into the
Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', ...
of North America, approximately 70 million years ago, making it one of the oldest living plant species. The fossil records of the genus extend into the
Triassic The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago (Year#Abbreviations yr and ya, Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 ...
.


Characteristics

''Osmundastrum cinnamomeum'' is a
deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...
herbaceous plant that produces separate fertile and sterile
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. The sterile fronds are spreading, tall and broad, pinnate, with pinnae long and broad, deeply lobed (so the fronds are nearly, but not quite, bipinnate). The fertile spore-bearing fronds are erect and shorter, tall; they become cinnamon-colored, which gives the species its name. The fertile leaves appear first; their green color slowly becomes brown as the season progresses and the spores are dropped. The spore-bearing stems persist after the sterile fronds are killed by frost, until the next season. The spores must develop within a few weeks or fail. The ''Osmundastrum cinnamomeum'' fern forms huge clonal colonies in swampy areas. These ferns form massive rootstocks with densely matted, wiry roots. This root mass is an excellent substrate for many epiphytal plants. They are often harvested as osmunda fiber and used horticulturally, especially in propagating and growing
orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowerin ...
s. Cinnamon Ferns do not actually produce cinnamon; they are named for the color of the fertile fronds.


Classification

Traditionally, this plant has been classified as ''Osmunda cinnamomea'' L. However, recent genetic and morphological evidence (Metzgar et al. 2008; Jud et al. 2008) clearly demonstrate that the cinnamon fern is a sister species to the entire rest of the living
Osmundaceae Osmundaceae (royal fern family) is a family of ferns containing four to six extant genera and 18–25 known species. It is the only living family of the order Osmundales in the class Polypodiopsida (ferns) or in some classifications the only ord ...
.
Cladistically Cladistics (; ) is an approach to biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups ("clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesized relationships is typically shared derived char ...
, it is either necessary then to include all species of the Osmundaceae, including ''
Todea The fern genus ''Todea'' is known from only two living species. ''Todea barbara'' L., known as the king fern, is native to South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia while '' Todea papuana'' H. is known only from Papua New Guinea. Species in the ge ...
'' and ''
Leptopteris The fern genus ''Leptopteris'' is a small group of plants found growing in the Pacific Islands, New Guinea and Australia. They are similar to ferns in the related genus ''Todea'', and were originally included in that genus. However, the very thi ...
'' in the genus ''
Osmunda ''Osmunda'' is a genus of primarily temperate-zone ferns of family Osmundaceae. Five to ten species have been listed for this genus. Description Completely dimorphic fronds or pinnae (hemidimorphic), green photosynthetic sterile fronds, and n ...
'', or else it is necessary to segregate the genus ''Osmundastrum''. ''O. cinnamomeum'' is the sole living species in the genus, although it is possible that some additional fossils should be assigned to ''Osmundastrum''. Formerly, some authors included the interrupted fern, '' Osmunda claytoniana'', in the genus or section ''Osmundastrum'', because of its gross apparent morphological similarities. However, detailed morphology and genetic analysis have proven that the interrupted fern is actually a true ''Osmunda''. This is borne out by the fact that it is known to hybridize with the American royal fern, '' Osmunda spectabilis'' to produce '' Osmunda × ruggii'' in a family in which hybrids are rare, while ''Osmundastrum cinnamomeum'' has no known hybrids. ''Osmundastrum cinnamomeum'' is considered a
living fossil A living fossil is an extant taxon that cosmetically resembles related species known only from the fossil record. To be considered a living fossil, the fossil species must be old relative to the time of origin of the extant clade. Living foss ...
because it has been identified in the geologic record as far back as 75 million years ago. The oldest member of the genus is ''O. indentatum'' from the
Triassic The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago (Year#Abbreviations yr and ya, Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 ...
of Tasmania, Australia. The Asian and American populations of cinnamon fern are generally considered to be
varieties Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
of a single species, but some botanists classify them as separate species. The Asian taxon is thus named ''Osmundastrum asiaticum''.


Uses

According to th
Native American Ethnobotany Database
cinnamon fern has been historically used by first nations tribes (Abnaki, Menominee) as a food source. The Iroquois and Cherokee tribes used the fern for a wide variety of medicinal purposes including as a cold remedy, gynecological aid, venereal aid, and as a remedy to snake bites.


References


Further reading

*Metzgar, Jordan S., Judith E. Skog, Elizabeth A. Zimmer, and Kathleen M. Pryer (2008). "The Paraphyly of ''Osmunda'' is Confirmed by Phylogenetic Analyses of Seven Plastid Loci." Systematic Botany, 33(1): pp. 31–36. *Serbet, Rudolf, and Gar W. Rothwell (1999). "''Osmunda cinnamomea'' (Osmundaceae) in the Upper Cretaceous of western North America: Additional evidence for exceptional species longevity among filicalean ferns." International Journal of Plant Sciences, 160: 425–433.


External links


USDA Plants treatment: ''Osmundastrum cinnamomeum'' (Cinnamon fern)
*Flora of North America
Flora of North America treatment: ''Osmunda cinnamomea''
*Flora of North America
RangeMap: ''Osmunda cinnamomea''
* *
Flora of Taiwan: ''Osmunda cinnamomea''


{{Taxonbar, from=Q2072476, from2=Q1802734, from3=Q19847984 Osmundales Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Monotypic fern genera