''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 t ...

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 area ...

, growing in swamps, bogs and moist woodlands. In North America it occurs from southern Labrador west to Ontario, and south through the

eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air ...

United States to eastern Mexico and the West Indies; in South America it occurs west to Peru and south to Paraguay. In Asia it occurs from southeastern Siberia south through Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan to Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. ''Osmundastrum cinnamomeum'' has a fossil record extending into the Late Cretaceous 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 which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period ...

Characteristics

''Osmundastrum cinnamomeum'' is a deciduous

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition o ...

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 In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, ...

-bearing fronds are erect and shorter, tall; they become

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus '' Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, break ...

-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 flowering ...

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

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 cha ...

, 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 g ...

'' and '' Leptopteris'' in the genus '' Osmunda'', 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 fossi ...

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

of Tasmania, Australia. The Asian and American populations of cinnamon fern are generally considered to be varieties 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

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

Characteristics

Classification

Uses

References

Further reading

External links