Hawaiian gardens have lengthy been well-known for his or her huge array of orchids and different showy flowering vegetation. Ferns alternatively don’t get prime billing in most landscapes though they had been in all probability the primary vascular vegetation to make Hawaii their house. Actually, ferns have been round lengthy earlier than flowering vegetation advanced.
It’s estimated that there are greater than 12,000 species at this time. Most are comparatively small however some treeferns might attain 30 toes or extra in top. These treeferns are remnants of the carboniferous age and should have existed greater than 100 million years in the past, lengthy earlier than flowering vegetation. Nearly all of species are present in humid tropical and subtropical areas, however are properly represented in temperate forests as properly. Ferns could also be discovered rising on rocks, in caves or rising within the tops of bushes wherever there may be sufficient moisture and humidity. Ferns rising on different vegetation together with orchids and bromeliads are known as epiphytes. We generally see epiphytitic varieties rising on hapu’u, tree branches and even rocky, soiless areas. Within the final decade, different “airplants” like bromeliads have grow to be widespread due to their colourful foliage and flowers.
Different additions to the listing of epiphytes for the small gardens are the staghorn or elkhorn ferns. A couple of species of staghorn or Platycerium have been grown right here for years however are in no way thought of frequent.
In fact, the Platycerium shouldn’t be confused with the false staghorn or uluhe of Hawaiian forests. That is truly a climbing fern, Dicaranopteris linearis, which may develop into nearly impenetrable thickets within the lowland rainforests.
The true staghorn ferns develop epiphytically on assist bushes primarily in tropical areas of the world. Staghorns come from such locations because the Pacific rim, which incorporates Australia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, and the Malay Peninsula. Borneo, India, Africa, and Madagascar are additionally represented. One species, Platycerium andinum, comes from Peru and Bolivia.
Though nonetheless plentiful of their native habitat, it has been solely throughout the final 40 years that they’ve been grown by nurseries right here, and a few are nonetheless thought of to be fairly uncommon. Of the 18 species of staghorn ferns, the one most acquainted to folks might be Platycerium bifurcatum, which is native to Australia. It has been reported that this species has yielded as much as 50 cultivars, or hybrids.
The identify Platycerium derives from a Greek phrase that means broad horn. The phrase platy means broad and keras means horn, therefore, Platycerium. This describes the form of the decrease or fertile fronds, which truly resemble a set of stag’s antlers.
The entire staghorn species are members of the fern household. An attention-grabbing concept associated to the genus Platycerium is that it’s thought of considerably of a lacking hyperlink within the evolution of ferns. When the fern spore germinates, it first develops a flat, shieldlike construction referred to as a gametophyte, or thalli. The fern we acknowledge develops from this shieldlike construction and the thalli disappears. As a result of the Platycerium’s basal frond is just about intact and performs an integral half in its development habits, it’s felt that this basal frond represents a transition between older and present-day kinds.
A fossilized spore of Platycerium was recognized in sandstone relationship to the Cretaceous interval, which helps varied theories that this plant household has been round for thousands and thousands of years, together with the period of the dinosaurs. This denotes a heritage of nice antiquity. Research of the genus date again to the early 18th century, when these ferns had been first recognized in Africa.
Fossil pictures left in coal deposits 500 million years in the past inform us that ferns had been the primary vegetation to evolve true leaves. Platyceriums have two distinct units of leaves. The basal or fertile leaves adhere by root constructions to their assist. The fertile fronds challenge outward from a central apex within the basal frond. These fertile fronds can type a dramatic drooping impact, as with the Platycerium bufurcatum and Platycerium coronarium species, or they are often erect, as with Platycerium veitchii.
The fertile frond carries spores in splotches on the underside of the fronds and is a key in some species identification. Platycerium grande is distinguished from an identical cousin, Platycerium superbum, by being smaller. It additionally has two distinct spore patches on the underside of its fertile fronds, whereas Platycerium superbum has one giant patch. As these fertile fronds develop and mature, they finally yellow and fall off. The basal fronds play a unique position within the plant’s general operate. As they mature, they flip brown and “thatch up” to type a thick matting. This helps shield the stems and roots of the plant and likewise serves as a “composting” middle for the particles that falls into the cavity created by the buildup of fronds. This supplies meals for development for any such epiphytic fern.
Though these spectacular ferns happen most frequently in tropical areas, many will survive extended dry seasons and are fairly hardy.
Many cultivars have been developed and there may be a lot hypothesis about whether or not any of those have occurred naturally, however the basic concept amongst horticulturists is that they’ve merely escaped from cultivation and established themselves. This sounds particularly possible contemplating their antiquity and the curiosity these uncommon vegetation have generated over the centuries. They’re an interesting addition to our Hawaiian gardens.