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| Photo
by Renee Brecht |
Britton and Brown. |
| Botanical name: |
Ophioglossum pusillum Raf. |
| Common
name: |
northern adderstongue |
| Group: |
fern |
| Family: |
Ophioglossaceae |
| Growth
Type: |
forb/herb |
| Duration: |
perennial, deciduous |
| Origin: |
native |
| Plant
height: |
5-12" |
| Foliage: |
upright stem with 1 leaf, stalk usually expanding gradually into blade, usually pale dull green, blade widest at the middle, tapering to the base |
| Reproduction: |
Reproduces by means of spores, found on a separate fertile frond |
| Flowering/fruiting time |
fruits in May; fronds develop on fertile plants; sterile plants do not develop fronds |
| Habitat: |
old fields, woods, roadside ditches, flood plains, in seasonally wet, rather acidic soil |
| Range
in
New Jersey: |
per Mary Hough, throughout the full range of the species; i.e., most of State |
| Heritage ranking if any: |
S3, LH |
| Distribution |
 |
| Misc.: |
Similar plant, O. vulgautm was thought to be historical in NJ but rediscovered in early 2000s; previously, populations had been incorrectly identified as Ophioglossum pusillum. It was determined that the most reliable method for identification is the sheath, found below ground. In O. vulgatum, the sheath is thicker and persistent, whereas in O. pusillum, the sheath is thinner, membranous basal ephemeral. Leaves may also be used for identifcation but are not as reliable due to variation in the leaves.
For a more in depth discussion between the two, see eflora.org
Previously O. vulgatum var. pycnostichum is now O. vulgatum
O. pusillum was previously O. vulgatum var. pseudopodum. |
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Sources
**USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. Vol. 2: 572. |
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