''Sceptridium'' is a genus of seedless

vascular plant Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes (, ) or collectively tracheophyta (; ), are plants that have lignin, lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They also have a specialized non-lignified Ti ...

s in the family

Ophioglossaceae Ophioglossaceae, from Ancient Greek ὄφις (''óphis''), meaning "snake", and γλῶσσα (''glôssa''), meaning "tongue", also known as the adder's-tongue family, is a small family of ferns. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classificatio ...

, closely allied to (and often included as a subgenus of) the genus ''

Botrychium ''Botrychium'' is a genus of ferns, seedless vascular plants in the family Ophioglossaceae. ''Botrychium'' species are known as moonworts. They are small, with fleshy roots, and reproduce by spores shed into the air. One part of the leaf, the t ...

'' (the moonworts and grapeferns). It is also closely related to the genus '' Botrypus'' (the rattlesnake fern, often treated as the subgenus ''Osmundopteris'' under ''Botrychium''). ''Sceptridium'' species are commonly called the grape-ferns. These plants are small with fleshy

root In vascular plants, the roots are the plant organ, organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often bel ...

s, and reproduce by

spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual reproduction, sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for biological dispersal, dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores fo ...

s shed into the air. They differ from the moonworts in having at least some 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 (all fronds in ''Botrychium'' are spore-bearing), and in the fronds being bi- or tri-pinnate (''Botrychium'' are single pinnate, or rarely bipinnate); and from ''Botrypus'' in being

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

, or at least winter-green (''Botrypus'' are

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 Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

) and having the non-spore-bearing part of the frond long-stalked (short-stalked in ''Botrypus'').

Phylogeny

Phylogeny of ''Sceptridium'' Unassigned species: Botrychium rugulosum by OpenCage

* '' S. × argutum'' Sahashi * '' S. australe'' (Brown) Lyon (parsley fern) * '' S. biforme'' (Col.) Lyon (fine-leaved parsley fern) * '' S. × elegans'' Sahashi * '' S. javanicum'' Sahashi * '' S. jenmanii'' (Underwood) Lyon (Alabama grape-fern) * '' S. × longistipitatum'' Sahashi * '' S. × pulchrum'' Sahashi * '' S. rugulosum'' (Wagner) Skoda & Holub (ternate grape-fern, St. Lawrence grape fern, rugulose grape fern)''B. rugulosum''
Robert W. Freckmann Herbarium, University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point 27 Dec 2011 * '' S. × silvicola'' (Sahashi) Ebihara * '' S. subbifoliatum'' (Brack.) Lyon (island grape-fern) * '' S. underwoodianum'' (Maxon) Lyon''S. underwoodianum''
Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 27 Dec 2011

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2506308 Ophioglossaceae Fern genera