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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE LADY-FERN FAMILY | |||||||||
| The lady-fern family is well represented
in forested regions in Saskatchewan. These plants are different than the
angiosperms, or flowering plants, because they do not produce flowers. Instead,
the reproductive structures are called sporangia, or spore sacs. Each spore
sac contains many spores. The spores will germinate to produce what is called
the gametophyte. The gametophyte will produce an archegonium and an antheridium
which will produce the egg and sperm respectively. The egg and sperm fuse
to form a zygote, which grows into the sporophyte. The sporophyte is the
stage of the life cycle that is referred to below. In the lady-fern family, the leaves are called fronds. The leaf stalk is known as the stipe. The leaves in this family are often divided. The segments created by the first division are called pinnae (pinna sing.); the segments created by the second division are called pinnules (pinnule sing.). The spore sacs are in clusters called sori (sorus sing.). The indusium is the covering on the sorus and may be absent in some species. |
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| SMOOTH WOODSIA | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Woodsia glabella | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Smooth woodsia fronds are tufted at the base. A cluster of old stipe bases remains after the leaves fall back. The stipes are delicate and have a joint above the base at a swollen node. The stipes are green or straw-coloured throughout. The blades are linear to lance-shaped and pinnately-lobed. The blades and the central axes are hairless. There are usually eight to 14 pairs of pinnae per blade. The largest pinnae have one to three pairs of pinnules. The pinnules are smooth or broadly round-toothed on the edge. The sori are set in from the margin and are rounded in shape. The indusium is made of narrow, hair-like segments arranged in one row. The indusium usually passes the mature spore sacs. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Smooth woodsia grows in crevices of cliffs and rock outcrops. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This species and is found in northern Saskatchewan in the Mid-Boreal Lowland, Churchill River Upland, Athabasca Plain, Tazin Lake Upland, and Selwyn Lake Upland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Smooth woodsia is vulnerable in Saskatchewan because it is rare or uncommon. This species is only somewhat regionally restricted, but most local populations are small. No immediate threats are known, but are possible in the future. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY SMOOTH WOODSIA | |||||||||
| * Are the fronds densely tufted? * Are the fronds with sori similar to the ones without sori? * Are the blades and the central axes completely hairless? * Did you find it in northern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found smooth woodsia! | |||||||||
