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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE MARSH FERN FAMILY | ||
| In Saskatchewan, we have two members of the marsh fern family, long beechfern and eastern marsh fern. These ferns have similar sterile and fertile leaves. The blades are once or twice pinnately lobed and have a covering of transparent, needle-like hairs. The spore sacs, or sporangia, are clustered into sori. The sori are round to oblong and are usually located near the midvein. The indusium is round to kidney-shaped. The sporangia are stalked and release small spores. | ||
| LONG BEECHFERN | ||
| LATIN NAME: Phegopteris connectilis | ||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | ||
| Long beechfern has a stem as tall as 50 cm from a slender, creeping rhizome. The leaf stalk is as long as or up to twice as long as the blade. The leaves are triangular in outline and are 12 to 25 cm long. The leaves are twice lobed. The pinnae are in ten to 25 opposite pairs. The lowermost one or two pairs of pinnae are separate and sharply deflexed. The upper pairs are fused and connected by the wing on the central axis. The indusium is absent. | ||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | ||
| Long beechfern grows on moist, wooded streamsides. | ||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | ||
| This plant is found in northern and eastern Saskatchewan in the Mid-Boreal Upland, Churchill River Upland, and Tazin Lake Upland ecoregions. | ||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | ||
| Long beechfern is threatened because of rarity in Saskatchewan. It is only somewhat regionally restricted but local sizes vary. No immediate threats are known but may occur in the future. | ||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY LONG BEECHFERN | ||
| * Are the leaves twice lobed? * Are the leaves triangular in outline? * Are the lowest pinnae separate and deflexed while the upper ones are fused along the winged margin of the central axis? * Did you find it in northern or eastern Saskatchewan? |
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If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found long beechfern! |
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