Ceratopteris

Scientific name

Ceratopteris Brongn.

Common names

water sprite, Indian fern, pod fern, swamp fern, phak kuutnam

Family

Pteridaceae

Similar genera

unlikely to be confused with any other aquatic plant

Native distribution

pan-tropical

Species cultivated

Ceratopteris cornuta (P. Beauv.) Lepr.

C. pteroides (Hook.) Hieron.

C. richardii Brongn.

C. thalictroides (L.) Brongn.

Adventive distribution

Ceratopteris thalictroides is introduced into Australia, Europe and Florida (United States).

Weed status

not weedy

Habit

free-floating to attached and emergentemergent:
(adj) (syn. emersed) with parts raised out of the water; extending up out of the water
herb with finely dissecteddissected:
(adj) (of leaves) +/- deeply divided, cut, or lobed, including being compound
leaves

Brief description

Perennial perennial:
(adj) (of a plant) having a life cycle of more than two years
fern. Stem compact, bearing numerous roots and covered with relatively few scales. Leaves in a basalbasal:
(adj) at or pertaining to the base, or point of attachment
rosette, petiolatepetiolate:
(adj) relating to or in the form of a petiole; bearing petioles
, 1- or more-pinnate; lower leaves sterilesterile:
(adj) lacking male and/or female reproductive parts; not producing fruit, seed, pollen, spores, etc.
, often bearing plantlets along leaf marginmargin:
(n) edge; rim
; upper, emergentemergent:
(adj) (syn. emersed) with parts raised out of the water; extending up out of the water
leaves fertilefertile:
(adj) producing viable seed, spores, or pollen; capable of reproducing
, more deeply dissecteddissected:
(adj) (of leaves) +/- deeply divided, cut, or lobed, including being compound
than lower leaves, bearing sporangiasporangia:
(n) (pl. sporangia) a unicellular or multicellular sac or structure that produces spores
on lower surface, margins inflexedinflexed:
(adj) curved or bent inwards toward the axis
(curled), partially covering sporangiasporangia:
(n) (pl. sporangia) a unicellular or multicellular sac or structure that produces spores
. Dispersal by spores, plantlets and leaf fragments.

Natural habitat

margins of lakes, rivers, ponds, and swamps

Additional comments

Ceratopteris contains five species, but differentiating them can be very difficult due to the high degree of morphological variation and the formation of hybrids where the distributions overlap. The taxonomy of the genus is problematic, and some authors refer to several varieties of a single species, C. thalictroides. Ceratopteris richardii is infrequently cultivated for aquaria but is more commonly used as an experimental ‘model’ organism for studies of plant physiology. Younger leaves are edible.