Davallia

Davallia
Davallia canariensis in cultivation
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Polypodiophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Polypodiales
Suborder: Polypodiineae
Family: Davalliaceae
M.R.Schomb.
Genus: Davallia
(L.) Sm.
Species

See text

Synonyms[1]
  • Araiostegia Copel.
  • Araiostegiella M.Kato & Tsutsumi
  • Davallodes (Copel.) Copel.
  • Humata Cav.
  • Scyphularia Fée
  • Wibelia Bernh.
"Hare's Foot" on sandstone, Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, Australia
Davallia canariensis showing the rhizomes

Davallia (deersfoot fern, hare's foot fern, shinobu fern, rabbit foot fern, ball fern)[citation needed] is a genus of about 40 species of fern. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), it is the only genus in the family Davalliaceae, which is placed in the suborder Polypodiineae, order Polypodiales.[1] Alternatively, the family may be placed in a very broadly defined family Polypodiaceae sensu lato as the subfamily Davallioideae.[2]

The family is sister to the largest family of ferns, Polypodiaceae,[1] and shares some morphological characters with it.[3] Species are epiphytic ferns, with fronds arising from long aerial rhizomes which grow on and over thick bark on trees or on rock crevices.

  1. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference PPGI was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference ChriChas14 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Karl U. Kramer. 1990. "Davalliaceae". pages 74-80. In: Klaus Kubitzki (general editor); Karl U. Kramer and Peter S. Green (volume editors) The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants volume I. Springer-Verlag: Berlin;Heidelberg, Germany. ISBN 978-0-387-51794-0