Friday, November 07, 2008

Pyrrosia lingua

This fern is notionally tagged Pyrrosia lingua. Despite my efforts of digging into some fern literature and combing through images on the net.. i can just say it is probably a miniature form of P. lingua. It is a beautiful xeric/resurrection fern. When it is water-stressed, the fronds curl-up exposing the copper/silver underside (top).  Give it a good drenching, it revives very quickly (bottom).

The new fronds appear to be covered with whitish trichomes, showing special adaption to get atmospheric humidity.  

This beautiful fern was given to me and it is said to have originated from China. It is remarkably adaptable and heat tolerant; having survived 37 C tropical heat and drought without tissue damage:


2 comments:

Julie said...

This plant is so pretty! I love the leaf shape and how they behave with and without water!

Aiyana said...

You have the most unusual plants. Most of them are totally new to me, so your blog is a treat!
Aiyana