''Rumohra adiantiformis'', the leather fern or leatherleaf fern,U.S. National Plant Germplasm System; GRIN-Global Web v 1.9.7.1: Taxonomy profile of ''Rumohra adiantiformis''
/ref>Gilman, E. F
''Rumohra adiantiformis''.
Fact Sheet FPS-515. University of Florida Cooperative Extension, IFAS. 1999. is a

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 except t ...

in the wood fern

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Dryopteridaceae The Dryopteridaceae are a Family (biology), family of leptosporangiate ferns in the Order (biology), order Polypodiales. They are known Common name, colloquially as the wood ferns. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG&n ...

. It has a wide distribution, mainly in the tropical Southern Hemisphere.

Names

Other common names include leathery shieldfern, iron fern, 7-weeks-fern,De Souza, G. C., et al. (2006)
An ethnobiological assessment of ''Rumohra adiantiformis'' (samambaia-preta) extractivism in Southern Brazil.
''Biodiversity & Conservation'' 15(8), 2737-46. and climbing shield fern.

Description

Growing to tall and broad, ''Rumohra adiantiformis'' is a bushy, tufted evergreen plant with glossy dark green

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. These contain round sori (reproductive clusters) on the underside of the

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 ...

(leaflets) unlike many other ferns which have separate specialized reproductive fronds. Many of the sori have protective

peltate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...

indusia 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 ...

(films), and prominent scales on the stipes of the fronds.

Distribution

''Rumohra adiantiformis'' is native to South America, the Caribbean, southern Africa, the Western Indian Ocean islands, Papua New Guinea, and Australasia. Countries it is native to include such diverse places as Brazil and Colombia, the Galápagos Islands, the Greater Antilles in the Caribbean, Zimbabwe and South Africa Australia, and New Zealand.

Ecology

An example of plant associations of ''Rumohra adiantiformis'' is found in the

podocarp Podocarpaceae is a large family of mainly Southern Hemisphere conifers, known in English as podocarps, comprising about 156 species of evergreen trees and shrubs.James E. Eckenwalder. 2009. ''Conifers of the World''. Portland, Oregon: Timber Pre ...

/broadleaf forests of Westland, New Zealand, with flora associates including ''

Ascarina lucida ''Ascarina lucida'', commonly known as hutu is a species of small tree in the family Chloranthaceae. It is endemic to New Zealand, being common on the West Coast and Nelson regions of the South Island and more rarely found in the North Island. A ...

'', ''

Pseudowintera colorata ''Pseudowintera colorata'', also known as mountain horopito or pepper tree, is a species of woody evergreen flowering trees and shrubs, part of family Winteraceae. The species is endemic to New Zealand. All Winteraceae are magnoliids, associated ...

'', ''

Pseudopanax colensoi ''Pseudopanax colensoi'' is a species of evergreen plant. This species is native to New Zealand. An example occurrence in central Westland podocarp/broadleaf forests includes flora associates such as ''Cyathea smithii'' and '' Dicksonia squarrosa ...

'', ''

Cyathea smithii ''Alsophila smithii'', synonym ''Cyathea smithii'', commonly known as the soft tree fern or kātote, is a species of tree fern from New Zealand. Distribution and ecology The species' natural distribution covers all major islands of New Zealand: ...

'' and ''

Blechnum discolor ''Lomaria discolor'', synonym ''Blechnum discolor'', commonly called crown fern (Māori: piupiu), is a species of fern in the family Blechnaceae. This species is endemic to New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country i ...

''.

Cultivation

The fern is cultivated as an

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 i ...

for

groundcover Groundcover or ground cover is any plant that grows over an area of ground. Groundcover provides protection of the topsoil from erosion and drought. In an ecosystem, the ground cover forms the layer of vegetation below the shrub layer known as t ...

and in

floristry Floristry is the production, commerce, and trade in flowers. It encompasses flower care and handling, floral design and arrangement, merchandising, production, display and flower delivery. Wholesale florists sell bulk flowers and related sup ...

. As it is a tropical plant with only limited protection against frost, in

temperate climate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

s it is normally grown under glass as a houseplant. In the UK it has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

’s

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

. It is of economic importance in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, where thousands of people generate their income by wild-harvesting and selling the fronds for use in flower arrangements.

References

External links

Friday Fellow: Leatherleaf Fern
at Earthling Nature. {{Taxonbar, from=Q7379334 Dryopteridaceae Ferns of Africa Ferns of the Americas Ferns of Asia Ferns of Oceania Flora of northern South America Flora of southern South America Flora of western South America Ferns of Argentina Ferns of Brazil Ferns of Chile Flora of the Galápagos Islands Flora of the Caribbean Flora of the Western Indian Ocean Flora of South Africa Flora of Zimbabwe Ferns of New Zealand Ferns of Australia Flora of Tasmania Flora of Papua New Guinea Garden plants