Re: Gleichenia

Tony,

I hear there is a fern in South Africa called Rumohra adiantiformis
(Leatherleaf fern) South African form which is just like the standard
leatherleaf but is HUGE.  I am told the fronds grow 6 ft tall.  Have you
seen it?

Mary Gorton
Delaware

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tony Avent" <tony@plantdelights.com>
To: <ferns@hort.net>
Sent: Sunday, February 20, 2005 12:39 PM
Subject: Re: [ferns] Gleichenia


> Tom:
>
> Greetings from South Africa.  The ferns here are simply amazing including
> several species also native in the US including Adiantum c-v.  We have
> found Gleichenia in several locations, but the highest so far is just over
> 3,000' elevation.  This should be a Zone 8 climate, although many ferns
> tend to tolerate more cold than their climate would indicate. Very little
> of it is in spore, but with some luck, we will have an answer to your
> question soon.  It is one of the only ferns that I've seen with a
> silvery-white spore.
>
> > Does anyone have experience with growing the forking ferns from spore?
> >
> > The "Fern Grower's Manual" has an entry on the family Gleicheniaceae
> > calling it
> > difficult, slow. The smaller Gleichenia are said to be cultivated in New
> > Zealand and Australia.
> >
> > In habitat Gleichenia umbraculifera does not look difficult at all. It
> > grows
> > streamside or in damp meadows, competing easily with the grasses, at
> > moderate
> > elevations, 1000-2000 m, in Kwazulu Natal, South Africa, in neighboring
> > provinces, and in Zimbabwe. It is one of the smaller members of the
genus,
> > topping out at 50-60 cm. The habitat at the higher end of its
elevational
> > range
> > is probably Zone 8.
> >
> > I ask because the spore is greenish-yellow and green spore are commonly
> > said to
> > have short viability. Perhaps more pertinent than color, the family is
> > considered relatively primitive based upon the sporangial structure;
some
> > primitive ferns, such as Osmunda, have short life. Has anyone grown
> > Gleichenia
> > from stored spore?
> >
> > Tom Stuart, New York
> >
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>
>
> Tony Avent
> USDA Zone 7b, (0-10F winter, 90-100F Summer)
> Plant Delights Nursery
> 9241 Sauls Road
> Raleigh, NC  27603, USA
> ph 919.772.4794
> fx 919.772.4752
>
> "I consider every plant hardy until I've killed it myself...at least three
> times."  - Avent
>
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