Pteridaceae

• Acrostichum aureum
• Actiniopteris semiflabellata
• Adiantum cv. "Ocean spray"
• Adiantum cv. (variegated)
• Adiantum hispidulum cv.
• Adiantum microphyllum
• Adiantum pulverulentum
• Adiantum raddianum cv.
• Adiantum unidentified
• Ceratopteris sp.
• Coniogramme intermedia
• Doryopteris concolor
• Hemionitis arifolia
• Pellaea falcata
• Pellaea rotundifolia
• Pellaea viridis
• Pteris cretica
• Pteris ensiformis
• Vittaria cf. elongata
• Vittaria cf. lineata

• Query IPNI
• Common Name: Leather Fern, Coastal Leather Fern
• Family: Pteridaceae Ching

• Country of Origin: widespread in tropics
• Habitat: native to brackish water - typically rooted in mud with foliage held up

• Description: Acrostichum aureum, the golden leather fern, is a large understory fern that occurs in mangrove forests and other wetlands. Plants measure approximately 1.2 - 1.8m (4 - 6 feet) in height and are as broad as they are tall. Fronds are usually arching around the periphery of the plant, but tend to be more erect near the center. The thick, leathery leaves are compound and large, measuring over 1m (3.3 feet) in length, and 12 - 50 cm (4.8 - 19.7 inches) in width. There are 24 - 30 pairs of alternate leaflets (pinnae) that are non-overlapping, rounded at the tips, and measure approximately 10 - 34 cm (3.9 - 13.3 inches) in length X 1.3 - 7 cm (0.5 - 2.8 inches) in width. Leaves are shiny and typically dark green above, but paler on the leaf underside. Leaf margins are somewhat uneven and wavy in appearance.

  No sori are present as in other ferns. Rather, sporangia are distributed over the entire underside of reproductive pinnae (the most distal 5 or more pairs), lending a felt-like texture to these leaves. Sporangia are brick red to rust red in color, with spores measuring 37 - 72 µm in diameter.