Consortium of Pacific Herbaria - Nephrolepis falcata

Nephrolepis falcata (Cav.) C. Chr.
Family: Nephrolepidaceae fishtail swordfern [Nephrolepis biserrata var. furcans hort. ex L.H. Bailey]	Taxonomic Description Resources Palmer, Daniel D. 2003. Hawaii's Ferns and Fern Allies. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, HI. p. 324. Tectaria falcata Cav.; Nephrolepis biserrata (Sw.) Schott 'Furcans' Common names: hi'ui'a ("fish tail") fishtail fern Naturalized Latin falcatus, shaped like a sickle. The cultivar name is from the Latin furca, fork, in reference to the forked pinnae. Medium-sized, terrestrial. Rhizomes de-cumbent to erect. Stipes pale brown to greenish brown. Blades and axes glabrous or nearly so. Pinnae dichotomously 1-to 2-forked at tips, short-stalked, bases rounded, auricles absent, margins crenate, sometimes with rounded teeth. Sori round, medial to supramedial. Indusia round with narrow sinuses. This popular horticultural plant was first collected in the wild in Hawai 'i in 1936 on Moloka 'i near the mouth of Wailau Valley and is now found scattered in mesic to wet forests at low elevations on all major islands. The forked pinna tips of most fronds separate Nephrolepis falcata 'Furcans' from all other Hawaiian Nephrolepis.
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