Psilotum nudum

Psilotum nudum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Polypodiophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Psilotales
Family: Psilotaceae
Genus: Psilotum
Species:
P. nudum
Binomial name
Psilotum nudum
Synonyms[2]
  • Bernhardia antillarum K.Mull.
  • Bernhardia capensis K.Mull.
  • Bernhardia deppeana K.Mull.
  • Bernhardia dichotoma Willd. ex Bernh.
  • Bernhardia novae-hollandiae Müll.Berol.
  • Bernhardia oahuensis K.Mull.
  • Hoffmannia aphylla Willd.
  • Lycopodium nudum L.
  • Psilotum domingense Gand.
  • Psilotum flabellatum Gand.
  • Psilotum floridanum Michx.
  • Psilotum heterocarpum Colenso
  • Psilotum novae-zelandiae Gand.
  • Psilotum triquetrum Sw.

Psilotum nudum, the whisk fern,[2] is a fernlike plant. Like the other species in the order Psilotales, it lacks roots.[3]

Its name, Psilotum nudum, means "bare naked" in Latin, because it lacks (or seems to lack) most of the organs of typical vascular plants, as a result of evolutionary reduction. (Note that leaves are not actually absent, but greatly reduced.)[3]

  1. ^ Bárrios, S. & Copeland, A. (2021). "Psilotum nudum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T18821051A192161425. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Hassler, Michael. "Psilotum nudum". World Ferns. Synonymic Checklist and Distribution of the World Flora. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  3. ^ a b Friedman, William E.; Moore, Richard C.; Purugganan, Michael D. (2004). "The evolution of plant development". American Journal of Botany. 91 (10). Botanical Society of America (Wiley): 1726–1741. doi:10.3732/ajb.91.10.1726. ISSN 0002-9122. PMID 21652320.