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Pteris ensiformis 'Victoriae'

Silver-leaf Fern

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Image:	Leaves	110KB
Image:	Leaves	84KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Silver-leaf Fern, Sword Brake-Fern, Victoria Brake

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: 'Victoriae' garden origin, now circumtropical

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent; Land, Cultivated

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Ornamental

KEY FEATURES: cv. 'Victoriae': Erect to 45cm, with narrow sword-like leaves with a central silver-white stripe. FRONDS fertile erect to 30cm, central leaf (=pinna) narrow (4mm), ±1-2 long basal pinnae, 4mm wide; sori along edges covered by rolled edge. Parent species lacks the silver-white stripes.

Enlarged Image of 'Pteris ensiformis 'Victoriae''

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea: Present
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
		+	-	-	-	-	-	-

Northern Group: -
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
-	-	-	-	-	-

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Pteris ensiformis 'Victoriae' Burm. f.
SYNONYMS: Pteris ensiformis var. victoriae; Pteris victoriae

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; PTERIDOPHYTA (=Pterophyta); Pteridales; ADIANTACEAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: fieldspecimen+photo, Mja Poeschko garden, 3/2004, G.McCormack with ID as Pteris ensiformis 'Victoriae'. Atiu: field specimen, 10/2000, Malcolm garden, G.McCormack with ID as Pteris ensiformis 'Victoriae'.

References:
p.17 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.925 Hortus 3rd
p.951 Royal Hort. Soc. Index of Garden Plants
p.442 Tropica

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM04a, zD02, zupD04a

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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