Ophioglossum OPHIOGLOSSACEAE-OSMUNDACEAE Osmunda 



consisting of a fertile segment branching from the sterile segment: sporangia borne 

 on the simple or pinnately branched fertile segment: sterile blade simple or compound. 

 4 genera; 2 in China. 



Key to the Genera 



Sporangia in a simple spike: sterile blade simple; veins reticulate 1. Ophioglossum 



Sporangia in a compound spike: sterile blade pinnate to decompound; 



veins free 2. Botrychium 



1. Ophioglossum Linn. Adder's Tongue MM'h~^M (P'ing Erh Hsiao 

 Ts'ao Shu; Little Bottle-like Grass Genus) 

 Roots fibrous, fleshy: bud borne on apex of rhizome, exposed and free from leaf : 

 leaves dividing into sterile and fertile segments from a short common stalk; sterile 

 blade simple, entire; veins reticulate; the fertile segment simple; sporangia coherent 

 to stalk, opening by a transverse slit. 27 species. (Greek: ophis, a serpent, and glossa, 

 tongue; referring to the narrow sporophyll.) 

 1. Ophioglossum angustatum Maxon (PBSW 36:169-178) Common stalk 2-8 cm.; fr. 

 IV-VI; sterile blade narrow. China, Japan; locally in An., Ku. Damp grasslands. 



2. Botrychium Sw. Grape Fern Mii^M (Yin Ti Chueh Shu; 



Shady Soil Fern Genus) 



Rhizome short, with clustered, fleshy roots: bud enclosed within base of leaf stalk: 

 leaves fleshy, with a common short stalk dividing into sterile and fertile portions; 

 sterile blades pinnate to decompound; venation dichotomous, free; fertile segment long- 

 stalked, 1-4-pinnately branched: sporangia 2-ranked, nearly sessile. 23 species. (Name 

 a diminutive of the Greek: botrys, cluster of grapes; referring to arrangement of 

 sporangia.) 



Key to the Species 



Sterile portion of leaf 15-18 cm. broad, tripinnatifid in lowermost section; 



ultimate segments long, lanceolate; margins serrate 1. B. japonicum 



Sterile portion of leaf 6-12 cm. broad, 4-pinnatifid in lowermost section; 



ultimate segments small, oval 2. B. ternatum 



1. Botrychium japonicum (Prantl) Underw. (Mak. F. 967). Stalk of fertile leaf 

 14-35 cm. long; fr. VIII-XI; petiole hairy. Japan, China; locally in Ki., Ku. 

 Moist woods. 



2. Botrychium ternatum (Thunb.) Sw. Moonwort (Mak. F. 966). Stalk of fertile 

 leaf 15-22 cm. long; fr. VIII-XI; petiole glabrous. Asia; locally in An., Ki., Ku. 

 Moist woods. 



8. OSMUNDACEAE ^jffif (Tzu Chueh K'o) 

 Large terrestrial ferns with horizontal rhizomes: leaves erect, pinnately compound; 

 veins free: sporangia large, not in definite sori, maturing simultaneously; exindusiate; 

 annulus of a few thickened cells at the apex of sporangia. 3 genera. 



1. Osmunda Linn. Flowering Fern ^HM (Tzu Ts'uan Shu; 



Purple Design Genus) 



Tall ferns growing in swamps or moist woods: leaves in large tufts, long-stalked, 

 bipinnatifid to bipinnate; veins forking, free; fertile leaves or fertile portions of leaves, 



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