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Onoclea interrupta
(Maxim.) Ching & P.C.Chiu
(no common name)
Onocleaceae
Onoclea interrupta is a species of fern in the family Onocleaceae. It is often considered to be a variety of Onoclea sensibilis. It is native to northeastern China, Japan, Korea, and Russia.
Description
Onoclea interrupta is a vigorous plant that spreads easily, often becoming weedy. Sterile fronds are a pale yellow-green, ovate to ovate-triangular, 13 to 34 cm long and 15 to 30 cm wide. Leafstalks are pale yellow (brown near the bottom), 20 to 50 cm, and sparsely hairy. Sterile fronds are pinnate-pinnatifid to bipinnatifid and slightly scaly. They have 5 to 8 narrowly elliptic lobes, or leaflets at the bottom, on each side. Bottom leaflets are 8 to 12 cm long and 1.5 to 3 cm long, with wavy edges and short stalks. Fertile fronds, produced from early spring to mid-fall, are green becoming black, narrow, bipinnate, 20 to 45 cm long and 2 to 4 cm wide. Leaflets eventually roll under to form black "beads" that hold the sori (Wu et al. 2013).
Onoclea interrupta is very similar to Onoclea sensibilis, and is often considered a variety of that species. The two have subtle differences in their fronds: in Onoclea interrupta, the fertile and sterile fronds are approximately the same length, and segments of the fertile fronds are widely separated. In Onoclea sensibilis the sterile fronds are at least twice as long as the fertile fronds, and segments of the fertile fronds are closely spaced. Additionally, Onoclea interrupta is found in northeastern Asia, while Onoclea sensibilis is found in North America (Gastony and Ungerer 1997).
Onoclea interrupta is very similar to Onoclea sensibilis, and is often considered a variety of that species. The two have subtle differences in their fronds: in Onoclea interrupta, the fertile and sterile fronds are approximately the same length, and segments of the fertile fronds are widely separated. In Onoclea sensibilis the sterile fronds are at least twice as long as the fertile fronds, and segments of the fertile fronds are closely spaced. Additionally, Onoclea interrupta is found in northeastern Asia, while Onoclea sensibilis is found in North America (Gastony and Ungerer 1997).
Uses
Note: Please see the disclaimer regarding any information about medical or edible uses.
Distribution
Onoclea interrupta is found in meadows and wetlands in valleys, at altitudes of 200 to 900 m. It is found in the Chinese provinces of Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Jilin, Liaoning, as well as Japan, the Korean Peninsula, and Russia (Wu et al. 2013).
Status
References
Gastony, G. J., and Ungerer, M. C. 1997. Molecular Systematics and a Revised Taxonomy of the Onocleoid Ferns (Dryopteridaceae: Onocleeae). American Journal of Botany, 84(6): 840–849.
Wu, Z. Y., Raven, P. H., and Hong, D. Y., eds. 2013. Flora of China. Vol. 2-3 (Lycopodiaceae through Polypodiaceae). Beijing: Science Press, and St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden Press.
Wu, Z. Y., Raven, P. H., and Hong, D. Y., eds. 2013. Flora of China. Vol. 2-3 (Lycopodiaceae through Polypodiaceae). Beijing: Science Press, and St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden Press.
Description
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