Polystichum

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Genus of ferns

title: "Polystichum" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["polystichum", "dryopteridaceae", "fern-genera", "garden-plants"] description: "Genus of ferns" topic_path: "general/polystichum" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polystichum" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Genus of ferns ::

| image = Polystichum setiferum0.jpg | image_caption = Polystichum setiferum | taxon = Polystichum | authority = Roth | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = See text. | synonyms = {{Genus list |Acropelta|T.Nakai |Adenoderris|J.Sm. |Aetopteron|Ehrh. ex House |Hemesteum|H.Lév. |Hypopeltis|Michx. |Papuapteris|C. Chr. |Phanerophlebia|C. Presl |Plecosorus|Fée |Sorolepidium|Christ | synonyms_ref =

Polystichum is a genus of ferns in the family Dryopteridaceae, subfamily Dryopteridoideae, according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). The highest diversity is in eastern Asia, with about 208 species in China alone; the region from Mexico to Brazil has at least 100 additional species; Africa (at least 17 species), North America (at least 18 species), and Europe (at least 5 species) have much lower diversity. Polystichum species are terrestrial or rock-dwelling ferns of warm-temperate and montane-tropical regions (a few species grow in alpine regions). They are often found in disturbed habitats such as road cuts, talus slopes, and stream banks.

Description

Many ferns of this genus have stout, slowly creeping rootstocks that form a crown, with a vase-like ring of evergreen fronds 30 to long. The sori are round, with a circular indusium, except in South American species which lack an indusium. The stipes have prominent scales and often have hair-like cilia, but they lack any true hairs. The genus differs from the well-known and allied fern genus Dryopteris in the indusium being circular, not reniform, and in having the leaf segments with auricles—asymmetrical blades where one side of the segment is much longer than the other at the base.

Apomixis

Apomixis, the development of an embryo without the occurrence of fertilization, is particularly common among ferns. Apomixis evolved several times independently in three different clades of polystichoid ferns.

Taxonomy

Polystichum is one of the 10 largest fern genera and is grouped within the Dryopteridaceae. Polystichum s.l. is well defined as its own monophyletic group, including species from the genera Cyrtomidictyum, Cyrtogonellum, Cyrtomium, and Phanerophlebia. Research concerning taxonomy within Polystichum s.s. is ongoing, with high levels of hybridization, allopolyploidy, and apomixis making distinctions difficult. Based on genetic analysis Little & Barrington (2003) originally defined a monophyletic Polystichum s.s. by removing Cyrtomium as its own genus. It was further separated by Li et al. (2008) into a separate clade along with Phanerophlebia.

Selected species

The genus has a large number of species. The PPG I classification suggested that there were about 500 species; , the Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World listed 397 species and 58 hybrids, noting that "many undescribed species remain". The genus Polystichum includes, but is not limited to, the following species. In this list, a species name preceded by (=) is considered to be a synonym of the accepted species name above it.

  • – Christmas fern
  • – Hard shield fern

-- (=)

Hybrids

Hybridisation is frequent in the genus, with several named hybrids, including:-

  • P. × bicknellii (P. aculeatum × P. setiferum)
  • P. × illyricum (P. aculeatum × P. lonchitis)
  • P. × lonchitiforme (P. lonchitis × P. setiferum)
  • P. × lesliei (P. setiferum × P. munitum) first found in Surrey in 1995 and a second plant found in Cornwall in 2001.
  • P. × potteri (P. braunii × P. acrostichoides)

Former species

Species that were at one time considered part of the genus Polystichum, but are now categorized elsewhere, include:

Distribution

With species in six continents and many islands, Polystichum is remarkable for its global spread. Polystichum ferns first emerged in Asia during the late Eocene, around 49 million years ago. During this period there were high temperatures across the globe, which may have contributed to the diversification of flora.

Polystichum's spread to the New World took place during the late Eocene to early Oligocene. The most likely dispersal method was across a paratropical forest on a Pacific Ocean land bridge, such as the Bering Land Bridge. For a period before the height of the Ice Age temperatures froze enough seawater to lower the sea level but still allowed a forest to grow in Northern latitudes. From there Polystichum was able to spread through North American and into Central America.

Original theories described Polystichum spreading further into South America from Central America, but recent research has shown that South American Polystichum instead spread through long-distance dispersal from Australia. Genetic study has revealed close evolutionary relationships between Polystichum species in these two areas. Both Austral and Austral South American species lack and indusium. Austral Polystichum lack cilia, while South American species have marginal cilia.

Hawaiian Polystichum also spread through long-distance dispersal, with two separate dispersal events leading to the three Polystichum now observed in Hawaii.

Ecology

Polystichum species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Pharmacis fusconebulosa. Specimens of some of these can be found at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney.

Cultivation

Several species are grown as ornamental plants in gardens, notably P. setiferum. One species, P. tsus-simense of eastern Asia, is commonly offered as a houseplant.

References

References

  1. [http://www.tropicos.org/Name/40014388?tab=synonyms Synonyms] Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 25 Jan 2012
  2. (2016-05-01). "A well-sampled phylogenetic analysis of the polystichoid ferns (Dryopteridaceae) suggests a complex biogeographical history involving both boreotropical migrations and recent transoceanic dispersals". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
  3. (2003-03-01). "Major evolutionary events in the origin and diversification of the fern genus Polystichum (Dryopteridaceae)". American Journal of Botany.
  4. "Polystichum Homepage".
  5. Hong-Mei Liu, Robert J. Dyer, Zhi-You Guo, Zhen Meng,Jian-Hui Li, Harald Schneider (2012) The Evolutionary Dynamics of Apomixis in Ferns: A Case Study from Polystichoid Ferns Journal of Botany Volume 2012 (2012), Article ID 510478, 11 pages https://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/510478
  6. (2003). "Major evolutionary events in the origin and diversification of the fern genus Polystichum (Dryopteridaceae)". American Journal of Botany.
  7. (2008-01-01). "Phylogeny of Chinese Polystichum (Dryopteridaceae) based on chloroplast DNA sequence data (trnL-F and rps4-trnS)". Journal of Plant Research.
  8. (2007-08-01). "Origin of Hawaiian Polystichum (Dryopteridaceae) in the context of a world phylogeny". American Journal of Botany.
  9. (January 2008). "Phylogeny of Chinese Polystichum (Dryopteridaceae) based on chloroplast DNA sequence data (trnL-F and rps4-trnS)". Journal of Plant Research.
  10. {{PLANTS
  11. [http://www.tropicos.org/Name/50042445 ''P. bonseyi''] Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 19 Jan 2012
  12. {{PLANTS
  13. {{PLANTS
  14. {{PLANTS
  15. [http://www.tropicos.org/Name/26624666 ''P. brachypterum''] Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 19 Jan 2012
  16. [http://www.tropicos.org/Name/26619166 ''P. capillipes''] Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 20 Jan 2012
  17. (19 Jan 2012). "P. echinatum". Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden..
  18. [http://www.tropicos.org/Name/26611810 ''P. kiusiuense''] Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 20 Jan 2012
  19. {{PLANTS
  20. Conspectus of Southern African Pteridophyta, J. P. Roux, Nov. 2001. p. 129
  21. [http://www.tropicos.org/Name/50073885 ''P. mollissimum''] Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 20 Jan 2012
  22. [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=3&taxon_id=200004620 ''P. nakenense''] Chinese Plant Names www.eFloras.org 20 Dec 2012
  23. [http://www.tropicos.org/Name/26610907 ''P. neolobatum''] Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 19 Jan 2012
  24. [http://www.tropicos.org/Name/26607397 ''P. ordinatum''] Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 19 Jan 2012
  25. [http://www.tropicos.org/Name/50049714 ''P. erinaceum''] Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 19 Jan 2012
  26. [http://www.tropicos.org/Name/50049719 ''P. brunneum''] Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 19 Jan 2012
  27. {{PLANTS
  28. [http://www.tropicos.org/Name/50049702 ''P. lichiangense''] Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 20 Jan 2012
  29. [http://www.tropicos.org/Name/26619230 ''P. sinense''] Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 19 Jan 2012
  30. [http://www.tropicos.org/Name/26624670 ''P. apicisterile''] Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 19 Jan 2012
  31. [http://www.tropicos.org/Name/26624668 ''P. integripinnulum''] Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 20 Jan 2012
  32. [http://www.tropicos.org/Name/50073598 ''P. conaense''] Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 19 Jan 2012
  33. [http://www.tropicos.org/Name/26623788 ''P. ilicifolium''] Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 20 Jan 2012
  34. [http://www.tropicos.org/Name/50194910 ''P. heteropaleaceum''] Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 20 Jan 2012
  35. [http://www.tropicos.org/Name/26623792 ''P. kodamae''] Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 20 Jan 2012
  36. [http://www.tropicos.org/Name/26610904 ''P. xiphophyllum''] Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 20 Jan 2012
  37. [http://www.tropicos.org/Name/50072775 ''P. gyirongense''] Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 19 Jan 2012
  38. [http://www.tropicos.org/Name/50072773 ''P. jizhushanense''] Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 20 Jan 2012
  39. Murphy, Rosaline J. (2012). "Ferns, Clubmosses, Quillworts and Horsetails of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly". ERCCIS.
  40. [http://www.tropicos.org/Name/26609845 ''P. auriculatum''] Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 19 Jan 2012
  41. [http://www.tropicos.org/Name/26603877 ''P. falcatum''] Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 19 Jan 2012
  42. [http://www.tropicos.org/Name/26611814 ''P. lepidocaulon''] Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 20 Jan 2012
  43. LI, Chunxiang. (2004). "Asian origin for Polystichum (Dryopteridaceae) based on rbcL sequences". Chinese Science Bulletin.
  44. (August 2019). "Historical biogeography of the fern genus Polystichum (Dryopteridaceae) in Austral South America". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
  45. (January 2020). "Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World".
  46. PPG I. (2016). "A community-derived classification for extant lycophytes and ferns". Journal of Systematics and Evolution.

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polystichumdryopteridaceaefern-generagarden-plants