''Woodwardia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

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 exce ...

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 201 ...

, 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 that lasted from about 66 to 56 million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name is a combination of the Ancient Greek ''pala ...

Taxonomy

''Woodwardia'' was first described by James Edward Smith 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, the genus contains about 15 species (plus some hybrids). In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), the genera ''

Anchistea ''Anchistea'' is a genus of leptosporangiate ferns in the family Blechnaceae. It has only one species, ''Anchistea virginica'' (synonym ''Woodwardia virginica'') the Virginia chain fern, which has long creeping, scaly, underground stems or rhizo ...

'' 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 ''Woodwardia'' is a genus of ferns in the family Blechnaceae, in the suborder Aspleniineae (eupolypods II) of the order Polypodiales. Species are known as chain ferns. The genus is native to warm temperate and subtropical regions of the Norther ...

'' Blume *''

Woodwardia fimbriata ''Woodwardia fimbriata'', known by the common name giant chain fern, is a fern species in the family Blechnaceae, in the eupolypods II clade of the order Polypodiales, in the class Polypodiopsida. It is native to western North America from Brit ...

'' Sm. *''

Woodwardia harlandii ''Woodwardia'' is a genus of ferns in the family Blechnaceae, in the suborder Aspleniineae (eupolypods II) of the order Polypodiales. Species are known as chain ferns. The genus is native to warm temperate and subtropical regions of the Norther ...

'' Hook. *''

Woodwardia intermedia ''Woodwardia'' is a genus of ferns in the family Blechnaceae, in the suborder Aspleniineae (eupolypods II) of the order Polypodiales. Species are known as chain ferns. The genus is native to warm temperate and subtropical regions of the Norther ...

'' Christ *''

Woodwardia japonica ''Woodwardia'' is a genus of ferns in the family Blechnaceae, in the suborder Aspleniineae (eupolypods II) of the order Polypodiales. Species are known as chain ferns. The genus is native to warm temperate and subtropical regions of the Norther ...

'' (L.f.) Sm. *''

Woodwardia kempii ''Woodwardia'' is a genus of ferns in the family Blechnaceae, in the suborder Aspleniineae (eupolypods II) of the order Polypodiales. Species are known as chain ferns. The genus is native to warm temperate and subtropical regions of the Norther ...

'' Copel. *''

Woodwardia magnifica ''Woodwardia'' is a genus of ferns in the family Blechnaceae, in the suborder Aspleniineae (eupolypods II) of the order Polypodiales. Species are known as chain ferns. The genus is native to warm temperate and subtropical regions of the Norther ...

'' Ching & P.S.Chiu *''

Woodwardia martinezii ''Woodwardia'' is a genus of ferns in the family Blechnaceae, in the suborder Aspleniineae (eupolypods II) of the order Polypodiales. Species are known as chain ferns. The genus is native to warm temperate and subtropical regions of the Norther ...

'' Maxon ex Weath. *''

Woodwardia orientalis ''Woodwardia'' is a genus of ferns in the family Blechnaceae, in the suborder Aspleniineae (eupolypods II) of the order Polypodiales. Species are known as chain ferns. The genus is native to warm temperate and subtropical regions of the Northe ...

'' (Sw.) Sw. *''

Woodwardia prolifera ''Woodwardia prolifera'' (Chinese: 珠芽狗脊) is a species of fern in the family Blechnaceae.They can be found in China, Japan and the Himalayas. It was first described by Sir William Jackson Hooker and Walker Arnott in 1838. Distribution ...

'' 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 ''Woodwardia'' is a genus of ferns in the family Blechnaceae, in the suborder Aspleniineae (eupolypods II) of the order Polypodiales. Species are known as chain ferns. The genus is native to warm temperate and subtropical regions of the Norther ...

'' M.Martens & Galeotti *'' Woodwardia unigemmata'' (Makino) Nakai Species placed elsewhere in PPG I are: *''Woodwardia areolata'' (L.) T.Moore = '' Lorinseria areolata'' (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 W. may refer to: * SoHo (Australian TV channel) (previously W.), an Australian pay television channel * ''W.'' (film), a 2008 American biographical drama film based on the life of George W. Bush * "W.", the fifth track from Codeine's 1992 EP ''Bar ...

''. 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