''Woodwardia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

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 ...

s in the family

Blechnaceae Blechnaceae is a family of ferns in the order Polypodiales, with a cosmopolitan distribution. Its status as a family and the number of genera included have both varied considerably. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 ( ...

, in the suborder

Aspleniineae Aspleniineae is a suborder of ferns in the order Polypodiales. It is equivalent to the clade eupolypods II in earlier systems; it is also treated as a single very broadly defined family Aspleniaceae. The suborder generally corresponds with the o ...

(eupolypods II) of the 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 ...

. Species are known as chain ferns. The genus is native to warm temperate and subtropical regions of the

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...

. They are large 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 growing to 50–300 cm long depending on the species. The fossil record of the genus extends to the

Paleocene The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 mya (unit), million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), E ...

Taxonomy

''Woodwardia'' was first described by

James Edward Smith James Edward Smith may refer to: * James Edward Smith (botanist), English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society * James Edward Smith (murderer), American murderer * James Edward Smith (politician), Canadian businessman and mayor of Toronto * ...

in 1793. It was named after

Thomas Jenkinson Woodward Thomas Jenkinson Woodward (1745–1820) was an English botanist. Life Born 23 Feb 1745, he was a native of Huntingdon. His parents died when he was quite young, leaving him, however, financially independent. He was educated at Eton College and Cla ...

. When broadly

circumscribed In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius. Not every polyg ...

, the genus contains about 15 species (plus some hybrids). 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 relation ...

classification of 2016 (PPG I), the genera '' Anchistea'' and '' Lorinseria'' (each with one species) are kept separate.

Species

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants by ...

accepts the following species, excluding those placed in other genera in the PPG I system. *'' Woodwardia auriculata'' Blume *'' Woodwardia fimbriata'' Sm. *'' Woodwardia harlandii'' Hook. *'' Woodwardia intermedia'' Christ *'' Woodwardia japonica'' (L.f.) Sm. *'' Woodwardia kempii'' Copel. *'' Woodwardia magnifica'' Ching & P.S.Chiu *'' Woodwardia martinezii'' Maxon ex Weath. *'' Woodwardia orientalis'' (Sw.) Sw. *'' Woodwardia prolifera'' Hook. & Arn. *''

Woodwardia radicans ''Woodwardia radicans'', the chain fern, European chain fern or rooting chainfern, is a species of fern in the family Blechnaceae, mainly found in Macaronesia and southwestern Europe, but is also found in southern Italy and Crete. Growing to tal ...

'' (L.) Sm. *'' Woodwardia spinulosa'' M.Martens & Galeotti *''

Woodwardia unigemmata ''Woodwardia unigemmata'', the jewelled chain fern, is a species of evergreen fern native to Eastern Asia from the Himalayas to China, Japan and the Philippines. Growing to tall by broad, it bears pinnately-divided fronds which emerge red and t ...

'' (Makino) Nakai Species placed elsewhere in PPG I are: *''Woodwardia areolata'' (L.) T.Moore = ''

Lorinseria areolata ''Lorinseria'' is a genus of fern in the subfamily Woodwardioideae of the family Blechnaceae. Its only species is ''Lorinseria areolata'' ( synonym ''Woodwardia areolata''), the netted chain fern, native to eastern North America. The monotypi ...

'' (L.) C.Presl *''Woodwardia virginica'' (L.) Sm. = '' Anchistea virginica'' (L.) C.Presl File:東方狗脊蕨 - 溪頭自然教育園區 Woodwardia orientalis - Xitou Nature Education Area, Taiwan 20220531201808 12.jpg, Some species have large leaves, such as '' W. orientalis''. Leaves are deeply bipinnatifid. Young leaves of W. orientalis are red and the young adventitious buds on the leaf surface are also red.

References

External links

Germplasm Resources Information Network: ''Woodwardia''Flora of North America: ''Woodwardia''Flora of China: ''Woodwardia'' species list
*Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Macmillan. {{Taxonbar, from=Q732221 Blechnaceae Fern genera