Calochlaena

Calochlaena
Calochlaena dubia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Polypodiophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Cyatheales
Family: Dicksoniaceae
Genus: Calochlaena
(Maxon) M.D.Turner & R.A.White
Type species
Calochlaena dubia
(Brown) Turner & White
Species

See text.

Calochlaena is a genus of ferns within the family Dicksoniaceae.[1] Although these ground ferns resemble bracken, they are only distantly related. Five species are known from Melanesia, Polynesia and eastern Australia. Calochlaena dubia, is a common fern of the east coast of Australia. The name is derived from the Ancient Greek kalos "beautiful" and chlaina "cloak", and refers to the soft hairs on the species.[2]

The genus was originally described by William Ralph Maxon as a subgenus of the fern genus Culcita, but the differences were such that its members were raised to genus level, and are now considered to be in separate families. Culcita was restricted to two species, one from Mediterranean Europe and one from North America.[3]

  1. ^ C.Michael Hogan. 2010. Fern. Encyclopedia of Earth. eds. Saikat Basu and C.Cleveland. National Council for Science and the Environment. Washington DC.
  2. ^ "Calochlaena". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
  3. ^ Richard A. White and Melvin D. Turner (1988). "Calochlaena, a New Genus of Dicksonioid Ferns". American Fern Journal. 78 (3): 86–95. doi:10.2307/1547627. JSTOR 1547627.