Long strap fern
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Campyloneurum phyllitidis
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Polypodiaceae
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Landscape Uses:
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Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations. Also an accent epiphyte. Identified by Fair Child Tropical Botanic Garden as a native that does especially well in shade in this brochure. |
Ecological Restoration Notes: |
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One of the most abundant epiphytic ferns in a wide variety of forests. |
Availability: |
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Grown by enthusiasts. |
Description: |
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Epiphytic or terrestrial fern with numerous erect fronds rising in a tuft from the rootstock. Leaves long and narrow. |
Height: |
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Typically 2-3 feet in height. Mostly taller than broad. |
Growth Rate: |
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Moderate. |
Range: |
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Monroe County Keys north to Volusia, Lake and Citrus counties; West Indies, Mexico, Central America and South America. In the Monroe County Keys, apparently native only to Key Largo. |
Habitats: |
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A wide variety of swamps and humid forests. |
Soils: |
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Epiphytic, growing on the trunks and branches of trees and shrubs, or terrestrial in moist, well-drained humusy leaf litter; also on rotting logs and on limestone. |
Nutritional Requirements: |
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Moderate; can grow on nutrient poor substrate, but needs some nutrient inputs to thrive. |
Salt Water Tolerance: |
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Low; does not tolerate long-term flooding by salt or brackish water. |
Salt Wind Tolerance: |
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Low; salt wind may burn the leaves. |
Drought Tolerance: |
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Low; requires moist substrate and high humidity and is intolerant of long periods of drought. |
Light Requirements: |
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Light shade. |
Flower Color: |
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N/A. |
Flower Characteristics: |
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There are no flowers; the plants reproduce by spores. |
Flowering Season: |
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All year. |
Fruit: |
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Inconspicuous spores. |
Wildlife and Ecology: |
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Horticultural Notes: |
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Can be grown from spores. Small plants can be transplanted. |
Comments: |
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