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Christella dentata

Downy Wood-fern

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Frond and sori detail	121KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Downy Wood-fern, Soft Fern

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; Land, lowlands - mountains (++++)

KEY FEATURES: Soft, ladder-like fern to 80cm. FROND to 80x25cm (LxW) with mainly opposite leaves (=pinnae), longest near mid-frond; reducing and reflexing to near the stalk base. LEAVES soft, slender and tapering, to 15x2cm, with conspicuous midrib; dissected about 50% into rounded lobes, with one longer basal lobe; sori in two rows per lobe from leaf-midrib to about 70% of lobe.

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

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

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

Christella dentata (Forssk.)
SYNONYMS: Cyclosorus [B & P]; Nephrodium molle [TC]; Nephrodium cucullatum [TC possibly this species]; Dryopteris nymphalis [GW]

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; PTERIDOPHYTA (=Pterophyta); Dennstaedtiales; THELYPTERIDACEAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
p.386c Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM05b, zD05b

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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