Davallia
Encyclopedia
Fern
A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...
s in the family Davalliaceae
Davalliaceae
Davalliaceae is a family of ferns in the order Polypodiales. It is sister to the largest family of ferns, Polypodiaceae, and shares some morphological characters with it....
. They are epiphytic
Epiphyte
An epiphyte is a plant that grows upon another plant non-parasitically or sometimes upon some other object , derives its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and sometimes from debris accumulating around it, and is found in the temperate zone and in the...
ferns, with frond
Frond
The term frond refers to a large, divided leaf. In both common usage and botanical nomenclature, the leaves of ferns are referred to as fronds and some botanists restrict the term to this group...
s arising from long aerial rhizome
Rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
s which grow on and over thick bark
Bark
Bark is the outermost layers of stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines and shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside of the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and consists of the inner bark and the outer bark. The inner...
on tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s or on rock crevices.
Davallia as house plants
D. polypodiaceae, D. canariensis, D. fejeensis and D. trichomanoides are all grown as ornamental plantOrnamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
s. D. fejeensis is the most common Davallia species in commerce, and D. canariensis is widely grown as a house plant
Houseplant
A houseplant is a plant that is grown indoors in places such as residences and offices. Houseplants are commonly grown for decorative purposes, positive psychological effects, or health reasons such as indoor air purification...
.
The plants have furry rhizomes which cover the surface of the potting mixture
Potting soil
The most common ingredients used in potting soil are peat moss, composted bark and/or other plant materials, sand, and perlite . Some potting soil mixtures contain particles of vermicompost, while other contain vermiculite for water retention...
as well as root down into it. The fronds are triangular in shape and about 1½ feet long by 1 foot wide. They divide into three to four pinnae
Frond
The term frond refers to a large, divided leaf. In both common usage and botanical nomenclature, the leaves of ferns are referred to as fronds and some botanists restrict the term to this group...
which subdivide into many pinnules.
Davallia are often used in hanging baskets because the rhizomes split into sections and the surface is covered quickly. Unlike other ferns, Davallia tolerate low levels of humidity.
Selected species
- Davallia bullata - JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, and tropical AsiaAsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. - Davallia canariensis - Canary IslandsCanary IslandsThe Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
to SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and north AfricaAfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. - Davallia divaricata (syn.: Davallia polyantha) - Tropical AsiaAsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. - Davallia fejeensisDavallia fejeensisDavallia fejeensis is a species of fern in the Davalliaceae family.-References:*CV Morton, Observations on Cultivated Ferns, IV. The Species of Davallia, American Fern Journal....
Hook (syn.: Davallia fijiensis) - Fiji Islands and AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. - Davallia mariesii or "Squirrel's-foot fern" – tropical Asia and Malaysia
- Davallia solida - Malaysia, PolynesiaPolynesiaPolynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...
, and QueenslandQueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
.- Davallia solida var. pyxidataDavallia solida var. pyxidataDavallia solida var. pyxidata known as the Hare's Foot Fern occurs in eastern Australia. Usually seen as a lithophyte or epiphyte in or near rainforest areas. However, it may also be seen in a few locations west of the Great Dividing Range. Listed as vulnerable in Victoria, occurring in the...
- New South WalesNew South WalesNew South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales... - Davallia solida var. fejeensis (Hook.) Noot. - endemic to FijiFijiFiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
- Davallia solida var. pyxidata
- Davallia tasmanii - Davallia fern, native to the Three Kings IslandsThree Kings IslandsThe Three Kings Islands or Manawa Islands are a group of 13 islands about northwest of Cape Reinga, the northernmost point of the North Island of New Zealand, where the South Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea converge. They measure about 4.86 km² in area...
. - Davallia trichomanoides (syn.: Davallia dissecta) - Malaysia.