Polystichum lonchitis (Linnaeus) Roth

Holly fern

Etymology Lonchitis is from the Greek logch meaning spear, hence spear shaped.
Description Rhizome: erect, scales variable in shape, ovate to lanceolate, gradually narrowing towards apex, pale brown,.
Frond: 40 cm high by 6 cm wide, evergreen, persisting through the following summer, monomorphic, blade/stipe ratio: 8:1.
Stipe: grooved, green or straw colored with age, scales light brown, gradually diminishing in size upward, vascular bundles: 5, in an arc.
Blade: 1-pinnate, linear, often widest above middle, base narrowed, drooping at the tip, glossy, microscales dense below, glabrous above.
Pinnae: 25 to 35 pair, oblong to lanceolate, bending towards the apex, proximal pinnae ± deltate, rarely overlapping, in 1 plane, 0.5--3 cm, base truncate to oblique, upper ear well developed; margins serrulate-spiny with teeth spreading; veins free, forked.
Sori: round, between costae and margins, only on the upper half of the blade, indusium: peltate, distinct, grayish white, thin, central, sporangia: dark brown or black, maturity: mid to late summer.
Culture Habitat: rock crevices or at base of boulders, mostly in boreal and subalpine coniferous forests or alpine regions. Distribution: Europe, Siberia, Himalaya, Japan and N. America, Greenland. Hardy to -35°C, USDA Zone 3.
Synonyms
Polypodium lonchitis Linnaeus
Aetopteron lonchitis House
Aspidium lonchitis (L.) Swartz
Dryopteris lonchitis (L.) O. Kuntze
Hypopeltis lonchitis Tod.
Polystichum asperum Bubani
Polystichum lonchitis
Polystichum lonchitis. plant with expanding fronds; pinna with mature sori, maturest with shrivelled indusia.  Illustration from Scandinavian Ferns by Benjamin Øllgaard and Kirsten Tind, Rhodos, 1993.
Polystichum lonchitis
Polystichum lonchitis. Five vascular bundles in the stipe.  Drawing from Ferns of Northeastern United States, Farida A. Wiley, 1936.
Polystichum lonchitis
Polystichum lonchitis. a) fertile frond, b) pinna with mature sori, c) sorus, d) lower surface of sterile pinna.  Illustration by V. Fulford from Ferns and Fern Allies of Canada, William J. Cody and Donald M. Britton, 1989, © Agriculture Canada, used with permission.
Polystichum lonchitis
Polystichum lonchitis. Habit and stipe scales. Note last year's fronds in evidence.  Illustration from Scandinavian Ferns by Benjamin Øllgaard and Kirsten Tind, Rhodos, 1993.
Valid XHTML 1.0     Reports of errors and omissions appreciated: toms AT hardyfernlibrary.com (please replace the AT with @)