Pteris vittata

Pteris vittata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Pteridophyta
Class:	Pteridopsida
Order:	Pteridales
Family:	Pteridaceae
Genus:	Pteris
Species:	P. vittata
Binomial name
Pteris vittata L. [1]
Synonyms[2]
Pteris costata Bory P. diversifolia Sw. P. ensifolia Poir. P. inaequilateralis Poir. P. longifolia Wall. P. microdonata Gaudin P. vittata fo. cristata Ching in Ching & S.H.Wu Pycnodoria vittata (L.) Small

Pteris vittata, commonly known variously as the Chinese brake,^[3] Chinese ladder brake,^[3] or simply ladder brake,^[3] is a species of fern in the genus Pteris. It is indigenous to Asia, tropical Africa and Australia.^[3] The type specimen was collected in China by Pehr Osbeck.^[1]

Habitat and distribution

Pteris vittata is often associated with limestone habitats. It may be seen growing on concrete structures and cracks, in buildings in the central business district and suburbs of Sydney, Australia.^[4][5]

Pteris vittata is native and wide spread in the paleotropics: found from the east, to the south tropical, and southern Africa (in Angola; Kenya; Lesotho; Malawi; Mozambique; Namibia; Tanzania (including the Zanzibar Archipelago); Cape Province, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, and Transvaal in South Africa; Swaziland; Uganda; Zambia; and Zimbabwe); temperate and tropical Asia (in the provinces of Anhui, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Xizang, and Yunnan in China; the prefectures of Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku, and the Ryukyu Islands of Japan; and Thailand); and Australia, in the states of New South Wales,^[4] Queensland, Victoria, and Western Australia.^[3]

It is an introduced species in California, Texas, and the Southeastern United States. ^[6]

Uses

Although it grows readily in the wild, Pteris vittata is sometimes cultivated.^[3] It is grown in gardens for its attractive appearance,^[3] or used in pollution control schemes:^[3] it is known to be a hyperaccumulator plant of arsenic used in phytoremediation. ^[7]

Suggested reading

• Cong Tu and Lena Q. Ma ; Effects of Arsenic Concentrations and Forms on Arsenic Uptake by the Hyperaccumulator Ladder Brake, Journal of Environmental Quality doi: 10.2134/jeq2002.6410Vol. 31 No. 2, p. 641-647 (résumé)

References

1. ^ ^{a b}  Pteris vittata was originally described and published in Species Plantarum 2: 1074. 1753. "Name - Pteris vittata L.". Tropicos. Saint Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden. http://www.tropicos.org/Name/26602473. Retrieved November 3, 2011. 
2. ^ "Name - Pteris vittata L. synonyms". Tropicos. Saint Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden. http://www.tropicos.org/Name/26602473?tab=synonyms. Retrieved November 3, 2011. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} GRIN (July 18, 2007). "Genus epithet information from NPGS/GRIN". Taxonomy for Plants. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland: USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?401988. Retrieved November 3, 2011. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "Pteris vittata, PlantNET - NSW Flora Online, Retrieved June 23, 2011". http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Pteris~vittata. 
5. ^ Les Robinson - Field Guide to the Native Plants of Sydney, ISBN 9780731812110 page 318
6. ^ http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=PTVI . accessed 9/19/2010
7. ^ Wilkins, Carolyn, and Salter, Leo. (2003). Arsenic hyperaccumulation in ferns: A review. Environmental Chemistry Group Bulletin of the Royal Society of Chemistry. July 2003 edition.

Ladder Brake Fern growing on a brick wall Chatswood, Australia

External links

Media related to Pteris vittata at Wikimedia Commons

• USDA Plants Database - Pteris vittata