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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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| OREGON CLIFF-FERN | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Woodsia oregana ssp. oregana | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Oregon cliff-fern is tufted from compact rhizomes. The stipes not jointed above the base. The stipes are reddish-brown to dark purple when mature. The frond blades are linear to narrowly oval shaped. They are pinnately-lobed or bipinnate. The blades are somewhat glandular. The largest pinnae have three to nine pairs of pinnules that are smooth on the edge. The sori are rounded. The indusium is made of five to none linear segments and is concealed by or only slightly longer than the mature spore sacs. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Oregon cliff-fern grows on granitic or cliffs, rocky outcrops, and slopes. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This species and is found in northern and southwestern Saskatchewan in the Cypress Upland, Mid-Boreal Lowland, and Tazin Lake Upland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Oregon cliff-fern is vulnerable in Saskatchewan because it is rare or uncommon. This species is wide-ranging, but most local populations are small. No immediate threats are known, but are possible in the future. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY OREGON CLIFF-FERN | |||||||||
| * Are the margins of the pinnules smooth? * Are the fronds with sori similar to the ones without sori? * Is the indusium made or hair-like segments? * Did you find it in northern Saskatchewan or in the Cypress Hills? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found Oregon cliff-fern! | |||||||||
