Lophosoria quadripinnata
| Lophosoria quadripinnata | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Division: | Polypodiophyta |
| Class: | Polypodiopsida |
| Order: | Cyatheales |
| Family: | Dicksoniaceae |
| Genus: | Lophosoria |
| Species: | L. quadripinnata
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| Binomial name | |
| Lophosoria quadripinnata | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Lophosoria quadripinnata (
Description
Lophosoria quadripinnata is a
The rhizome is massive, with hairs, not growing a trunk (not arborescent), and with radial symmetry instead of horizontal; a characteristic apparently originating in the ancestor of the tree ferns. The fronds are large in size, 2-3 pinnations, with hairs on the under side of the petioles, and they are high on its abaxial part, all common characteristics of the Cyatheales order (the tree ferns clade). Also present are the pneumathodes (discrete vent lines, or patches, present on the rachis, petiole and rhizome, whose function is facilitating gas exchange in the dense tissue), which are characteristic of the tree fern clade.
 Details of the adaxial face of the frond of Lophosoria quadripinnata |
The
Like all Polypodiopsidas, the sporangia are leptosporangiate (with a foot, capsule with a single-cell wall thickness, and dehiscent ring in the capsule). As in all the tree ferns, the ring is oblique and complete, not interrupted by the foot of the sporangium. The spores have trilete marks. This species has spores with a very unusual morphology, with a central belt ("cincture") that meant for a long time the species was assigned its own family, Lophosoriaceae.
The germination of the gametophyte corresponds to the genus Cyathea, giving rise to short strands of from two to six cells in both varieties. The prothallus development is of the Adiantum type. When raised in the laboratory, gametophytes of the quadripinnata variety are always chordates, however gametophytes of the contracta variety possess three morphs, depending on the density of spores that are developed (Dyer 1979[3]). At low density, they are long spatulates with a central meristem and a slightly more developed wing than the other; at medium densities they are cordiforms and at high densities are band-like with a large amount of antheridia.
The gametophyte is protandric (a hermaphrodite, first
Taxonomy
- Theoretical introduction to Phylogenetics and Taxonomy
Other researchers, such as Kubitzki in Kramer (1990[8]) have it nested within Dicksoniaceae along with other genera that today are classified in other families of tree ferns. As molecular studies of the species continued, there was an increasingly obvious affinity with the family Dicksoniaceae, such as having the same number of chromosomes, and molecular DNA analysis done on rbcL sequence in 1999 also placed it within that family (Wolf et al. 1999[5]), a relationship that was confirmed in an extensive molecular study of ferns made by Korall et al. (2006,[9] on the sequences atpA, atpB, rps4 and the aforementioned). Because of that the species was placed in the family Dicksoniaceae in its own monotypic genus in Smith's 2006 classification system of monilophytes.[10]
Circumscription: the species consists of at least two varieties, sometimes placed as species of the genus:
- Lophosoria quadripinnata (J.F.Gmel.) C.Chr. variety quadripinnata
- wide distribution in the tropical parts of the Americas, from the mild and humid regions of South America, between 1000 and 3000 meters above sea level
- wide distribution in the tropical parts of
- Lophosoria quadripinnata variety contracta (A.F.Tryon
- found in Ecuador, at 2900 meters above sea level, and on Robinson Crusoe Island, Juan Fernandez Archipelago, Chile
The spores of the contracta variety are slightly bigger (70 x 75 µm) than those of the quadripinnata variety (50 × 60 µm). Furthermore, the quadripinnata variety's antheridia are made up of 5 cells: 2 baseline, 2 annular, and a small elliptical operculum, while those of the variety contracta are formed by three cells, one basal an annular and operculum (Stockey 1930[11]). They also differ in the morphology of their gametophytes.
Another variety Lophosoria quadripinnata variety quesadae A.Rojas has also been described in Costa Rica and Panama (Rojas-Alvarado 1996, it was described as Lophosoria quesadae species[12]).
Evolution
Dettmann (1986).
More recently, Cantrill (1998[14]) described fossilized leaves in the early Cretaceous layer (more specifically in the Aptian) in Antarctica, which contained spores of Cyatheacidites. The preservation of the leaves and spores was so good that Cantrill could identify the species, and described them by the name of Lophosoria cupulata D.J.Cantrill (published as Lophosoria cupulatus) with the genus change, as he considered Lophosoria quadripinnata (J.F.Gmel.) C.Chr. was the living species more closely related to the species found.
Economic importance
It is used as an ornamental plant in parks and gardens, as well as cut foliage in flower bouquets.[15] The plants used in latter are removed from their natural environment, creating certain local conservation issues. Some local markets in the south of Chile sell their sprouts, called perritos, for consuming in salads.[16]
References
- ^ Hassler, Michael (2004–2021). "Genus Lophosoria C.Presl". World Ferns. Synonymic Checklist and Distribution of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World. Version 12.3. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
- ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Lophosoria quadripinnata". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 2015-06-23.
- ^ Dyer, A.F. 1979. "The culture of fern gametophytes for experimental investigation." p. 253-305. In A.F. Dyer (ed.) The experimental biology of ferns. Academic Press, Londres.
- ^ Pichi Sermolli R. E. G. 1970. "Fragmenta Pteridologiae". -II. Webbia. 24: 699-722.
- ^ a b Wolf et al. 1999. "Phylogenetic relationships of the enigmatic fern families Hymenophyllopsidaceae and Lophosoriaceae: evidences from rbcL nucleotide sequences". Plant Syst. Evol. 219: 263-270
- ^ Gastony G. J. y Tyron R. 1976. "Spore morphology in the Cyatheaceae". II. The genera Lophosoria, Metaxya, Sphaeropteris, Alsophila, and Nephelea. Amer J. Bot. 63: 738-758
- ^ Pérez-García B., Fraile M. E., Mendoza A. 1995. "Desarrollo del gametofito del Lophosoria quadripinnata (Filicales: Lophosoriaceae)". Revista Biol. Trop. 43: 55-60.
- ^ Kubitzki, K. 1990. Pteridophytes and Gymnosperms. en: K. V. Kramer. P. S. Green (Eds.) The families and genera of vascular plants. Vol 1. Springer-Verlag, Berlín, Alemania.
- ^ Korall et al. 2006. "Tree ferns: Monophiletic groups and their relationships as revealed by four protein-coding plastid loci". Molecular phylogenetics and Evolution 39: 830-845.
- ^ A. R. Smith, K. M. Pryer, E. Schuettpelz, P. Korall, H. Schneider, P. G. Wolf. 2006. "A classification for extant ferns". Taxonomy 55(3), 705-731 (pdf here Archived 2008-02-26 at the Wayback Machine)
- ^ Stokey, A.G. 1930. "Prothallia of the Cyatheaceae." Bot. Gaz. (Crawfordsville) 90: 1-45.
- ^ Rojas Alvarado A. F. 1996. "Aportes a la flora Pteridophyta costarricense". II. Taxones nuevos. Brenesia 45-46: 33-50
- ^ a b Dettmann M. E. 1986. "Significance of the Cretaceous-Tertiary spore genus Cyatheacidites in tracing the origin and migration of Lophosoria (Filicopsida). Special Papers in Palaeontology 35: 63-94.
- ^ Cantrill D. J. 1998. "Early Cretaceous fern foliage from President Head, South Island, Antarctica. Alcheringa 22: 241-258
- ^ Smith-Ramírez C. 1994. "Usos artesanales del bosque nativo. La extracción silenciosa", Revista Ambiente y Desarrollo, X, (2), 71-76 pdf here Archived 2007-10-21 at the Wayback Machine
- ISBN 956-7721-22-X
External links
(in Spanish) Florachilena.cl