| Pteridophyte | Literature for Marattia douglasii
Palmer, 2003. |
| Marattiaceae | Bibliography |
| Marattia douglasii | |
Common name(s): mule's foot fern, kapua`ilio, pala |
| General Information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Distribution | Hawaiian Islands.In the Hawaiian Islands, endemic to Kaua`i, O`ahu, Moloka`i, Lana`i, Maui, Hawai`i. |
|
| Habitat | Mesic to wet forests, often on stream banks | |
| Elevation | 425-2070 m |
|
| Habit |
Terrestrial, medium-sized to large; rhizome a thick caudex up to 55 cm tall, 8-25 cm in diameter, covered with large, fleshy stipule-like structures at bases of pulvini (swollen stipe bases). |
|
| Leaves |
Fronds 90-270 cm long; stipes smooth, scales scattered on bases of stipes and stipules, these ovate-lanceolate, tan to dark brown; blade 3- to 4-pinnate, 2-pinnate distally, deltate to ovate-oblong, dark green, fleshy, pinnae stalked, pulvini at base (often inconspicuous on dried specimens); ultimate segments short-stalked, ovate or oblong, margins serrate, tips blunt; veins free, 1-3-forked. |
|
| Sori |
Synangia marginal to submarginal, linear along veins, 1.2-2 cm long, 4-6 compartments on each side. |
|
| Notes |
Names honor David Douglas (1798-1834), a Scottish botanish who collected plants in North America, china, and Hawai`i. He collected plants in Hawai`i from 1832 to 1834. |
|
| Contributor |
David Lorence |