Blechnum

Blechnum
Blechnum cordatum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Pteridophyta
Class:	Pteridopsida
Order:	Athyriales
Family:	Blechnaceae
Genus:	Blechnum L.
Species
See text

Blechnum (hard fern) is a genus of between 150-220 species of ferns in the family Blechnaceae, with a cosmopolitan distribution. By far the greatest species diversity is in tropical regions of the Southern Hemisphere, with only a few species reaching cool temperate latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere (notably B. penna-marina, south to Cape Horn, Chile, the southernmost fern in the world) and Northern Hemisphere (notably B. spicant, north to Iceland and northern Norway).

Most are herbaceous plants, but a few species (e.g. B. buchtienii and B. schomburgkii in Ecuador) are tree ferns with stems up to 3 m tall.

Selected species

• Blechnum ambiguum (C.Presl) Kaulf. ex C.Chr.
• Blechnum blechnoides
• Blechnum brasiliense Desv.
• Blechnum buchtienii Rosenst.
• Blechnum cartilagineum Sw.
• Blechnum chilense Kaulf.
• Blechnum cordatum (Desv.) Hieron. (syn. B. chilense)
• Blechnum discolor
• Blechnum durum
• Blechnum filiforme
• Blechnum fluviatile
• Blechnum gibbum
• Blechnum lanceola Sw.
• Blechnum magellanicum
• Blechnum nigrum
• Blechnum nipponicum (Kunze) Makino
• Blechnum nudum (Labill.) Mett. ex Luerss.
• Blechnum obtusatum (Labill.) Mett.
• Blechnum occidentale L.
• Blechnum orientale L.
• Blechnum penna-marina (Poir.) Kuhn
• Blechnum schomburgkii (Klotzsch) C. Chr.
• Blechnum serrulatum Rich.
• Blechnum spicant (L.) Sm.
• Blechnum vittatum Brack.
• Blechnum volubile Kaulf.
• Blechnum wattsii, Tindale Hard Water Fern

Cultivation and uses

Several species are grown as ornamental plants in gardens.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Blechnum

• Germplasm Resources Information Network: Blechnum
• Flora of North America: Blechnum
• Trees and shrubs in the Andes of Ecuador: Blechnum
• Flora of China: Blechnum species list
• Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan.
• Moore, D. M. (1983). Flora of Tierra del Fuego.

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