Plant Atlas

Contains 2 accepted taxa overall.

Characteristics

Genus

Pteris L.

Family

PTERIDACEAE

Common Name

BRAKE FERN

Specimen

View specimens within this family

Notes

Classification

Division

Class

Sub Class

Order

POLYPODIALES

Family

PTERIDACEAE

Genus

Pteris

Citation

PTERIS Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1073. 1753.

Basionym

Type

TYPE: Pteris longifolia Linnaeus Lectotypified by J. Smith, Hist. Filic. 295. 1875; Maxon, J. Bot. 61: 7-10. 1933.

Species

Scientific Name	Common Name	Herbarium Specimens	Status	Photos
Pteris multifida	Spider Brake
Pteris vittata	Ladder Brake, Chinese Ladder Brake

Identification Key

1. Leaves regularly 1-pinnate

1. Leaves 2-3-pinnate or irregularly pinnate with the proximal pinnae forked, divided, or pinnatifid

2. Pinnae 1-5 cm wide, the veins usually partly anastomosing

P. grandifolia

2. Pinnae 0.1-1.1 cm wide, the veins free, not anastomosing

3. Spores malformed, of different sizes and shapes

P. x delchampsii

3. Spores of uniform shape and size

4. Petioles often sparsely scaly, scales dark brown to nearly black, scales absent or few on rachises, the costae abaxially with or without hairs; lateral pinnae mostly green to light green, 1-6 mm wide, appearing articulate to rachis, apices rounded to obtuse

P. bahamensis

4. Petioles and often rachises densely scaly, scales light to reddish, often grading into hairs on abaxial costae; lateral pinnae mostly green to dark green, 5-11 mm wide, appearing not articulate to rachis, apices long-attenuate to sharply acute

P. vittata

5. Leaf blade pinnae or pinnules regularly deeply lobed, with 5-25 pairs of subequal lobes

5. Leaf blade pinnae or pinnules unlobed or irregularly lobed with unequal and few lobes

6. Leaves 0.3-1 m long, 2-pinnate at the basalmost pinnae with usually 2 pinnules, veins free and not anastomosing

P. quadriaurita

6. Leaves 1-2 m long, 2- or 3-pinnate, the basalmost pinnae with more than 2 pinnules, veins anastomosing

P. tripartita

7. Central rachis usually not winged; costae abaxially with few scattered linear scales

P. cretica

7. Central rachis usually distally winged; costae abaxially without scales

8. Leaf segment apices attenuate to long-acuminate, the segments all uniformly linear or nearly so

P. multifida

8. Leaf segments apices rounded on sterile ones and acute to acuminate on fertile ones, the steriles ones usually elliptic, ovate, lanceolate, or linear, the fertiles ones more linear

Genus Synonyms

Synonym	Full Citation	Basionym	Type
No synonyms found.