Polypodium calirhiza facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Polypodium calirhiza |
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Polypodium (plant)
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| Species: |
calirhiza
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Polypodium calirhiza is a type of fern often called the nested polypody or habit polypody. It belongs to the polypody family. You can find this fern growing in parts of the United States, specifically in California and Oregon. It also grows in several states in Mexico, including Colima, Jalisco, Mexico State, Oaxaca, and Veracruz.
This fern has broad, oval-shaped leaflets on each leaf, which come to a slightly rounded point. Sometimes, this fern grows as an epiphyte. This means it can grow on other plants, like trees, but it doesn't take nutrients from them. Instead, it gets its water and food from the air, rain, or debris that collects around it.
Discovering the Nested Polypody Fern
The name Polypodium calirhiza is a mix of two other fern names: Polypodium californicum and Polypodium glycyrrhiza. This is because the nested polypody fern actually came about as a natural hybrid, or mix, of these two parent species.
Scientists didn't realize Polypodium calirhiza was its own unique species until 1991. Before that, it was likely mistaken for one of its parent ferns.
Where Does This Fern Grow?
In the California Coast Ranges, the nested polypody fern lives in different kinds of places. You might find it in California oak woodlands, which are forests with many oak trees. It also grows on exposed, rocky outcrops, which are areas where rocks stick out of the ground.
In these oak woodlands, P. calirhiza often grows alongside other plants. For example, it can be found near another fern called Pellaea andromedifolia. It might also be seen near certain types of fungus, like Tremella mesenterica. These plants and fungi form a community where they live together.
