Microsorum(Microsorum) - a genus of herbaceous ferns, which includes 36 species, and is part of the Centipede family (Polypodiaceae).
Genus Microsorum was first described in 1833. However, in later publications in the literature, to denote the same kind, it was allowed to write Microsorium, under this name, plants are sometimes marketed, but from a scientific point of view, this name is incorrect.
Microsorum translated from Greek means "little sorus", describes the structure of the organs of asexual reproduction of ferns - soruses on the underside of the leaves.
To date, molecular data indicate that the genus Microsorum is polyphyletic, i.e. the species included in it come from different ancestors, which leads to a change in classification.
Microsorums grow mainly in warm and humid tropical forests, but some species are able to exist in cooler conditions. Most of them grow in India and China, about 20 are found on the islands of the Pacific Ocean, the rest in Australia, Africa and New Zealand.
They lead a terrestrial life or are epiphytes, settling on large branches of trees and attaching themselves to trunks, some grow as lithophytes, settling in rock crevices. They prefer places near water bodies or waterfalls, and some are able to fully or partially inhabit the aquatic environment.
The appearance of microorums is quite diverse. These are perennial herbaceous plants with creeping or ascending, long or short rhizomes covered with scales and adventitious roots growing in the substrate. Fronds (or as they are often called - leaves), extending upward from the rhizomes, from a few centimeters to more than a meter in height, can be with pronounced petioles or sessile, whole, lobed or deeply dissected. They perform two important functions - photosynthesis and spore reproduction. Young leaves are cochlear and unfold gradually. The leaf blades are hard, glossy, uneven, have a slightly wavy edge, in some with a beautiful texture resembling crocodile skin. On the underside, brown sori (groups of sporangia) are located along the midvein or chaotically, in which the spores mature.
The life cycle of ferns is very different from flowering plants; asexual and sexual generations alternate in it - sporophyte and gametophyte, with a clear predominance of the former. After the opening of the sporangia, the spores are sown on the ground and germinate, a small plant is formed - an outgrowth, or gametophyte, in appearance very different from the usual fern. Gametes are formed on the outgrowth - sperm and eggs. Usually, fertilization takes place in the aquatic environment, and a new plant, a sporophyte, already grows from the embryo. Microsorums are capable of vegetative propagation by fragments of rhizomes. On the old leaf blades of some of them, small daughter plants can form.
Due to the high decorativeness and unpretentiousness of microsorums, they are widely used in warm countries to decorate gardens, and in cooler climates they are excellent indoor plants, without which landscaping of both residential and office premises is indispensable. Several types are grown in culture:
Microsorum banana-leaved (Microsorum musifolium), also known as Polypodium musifolium Is an epiphytic fern native to the Malaysian archipelago. Was described in 1929. The rhizome is dark brown, creeping just below the surface of the substrate, with short internodes of 1–2 cm. The appearance of the leaves, similar to those of banana, gave rise to the species name. Fronts are light green, belt-like, grow more than a meter in nature, are rather tough and waxy, without visible petioles, are densely located on the rhizomes, in the form of a rosette, into which organic residues are collected. The central vein clearly protrudes from the bottom of the leaf, and the lateral veins give a characteristic reticular pattern, which becomes more noticeable with age. The lamina is uneven, with a wavy edge and protuberances between the veins, which give it a resemblance to the skin of a lizard or crocodile.Spore-bearing and sterile fronds are similar in shape, cream or brown sori, round, numerous, densely scattered on the underside of the leaf between the veins.
 |  |
In one of the nurseries in Australia, by selection of a natural mutation, characterized by a greater density of leaves and their smaller size, up to 55-65 cm in length and up to 8-14 cm in width, the variety was obtained Crocodylus - one of the most popular, hardy and easy to grow ferns.
Microsorum variegated (Microsorum diversifolium), synonym Vesiculate microsorum(Microsorum pustulatum) - a native of Australia and parts of New Zealand.
It is an epiphytic or terrestrial fern that covers large areas on the ground, can grow on rocks and fallen trees, in thickets of bushes and in open spaces. It occurs from coastal to mountain forests at altitudes up to 900 m. It can grow in rather dry places, its distribution area reaches the subalpine regions.
Rhizomes creeping or climbing, long and thick, 3-11 mm in diameter, covered with dense dark brown appressed scales. Leaves can reach sizes from 4 to 75 cm, with pronounced petioles 1-35 cm long, pale chocolate color, bare or with individual scales. The leaf blades are bright green, glossy, leathery, with a wavy edge, very diverse in shape, which is reflected in the species name - from whole to deeply dissected with 1-15 pairs of segments. There are also double-peristosely dissected leaf blades or the formation of peculiar crests at their ends. The central vein is well pronounced, the lateral ones form a reticular pattern. Sori are round or elliptical, 2.5-5 mm, form low bulges on the upper side of the leaf blade, which gave another name to the species - vesicular microorum.
 |  |
The plant in literature can be found under the names Phymatosorus diversifolius (according to the new classification), Phymatodes diversifolium, Polypodium pustulatum , Phymatosorus pustulatum, Polypodium scandens, Polypodium diversifolium and under many others, but it is best characterized by the everyday name - Kangaroo, or Kangaroo fern - Kangaroo fern, it is under this name that it goes on sale. It is extremely unpretentious in culture, can be grown in a hanging planter, this is an excellent plant for green walls.
Microsorum point (Microsorum punctatum) inhabits wet and seasonally dry forests or savannas, where it leads an epiphytic or terrestrial lifestyle. It is found from eastern South Africa to Mozambique and eastern Zimbabwe, widely distributed in tropical Africa, as well as in Madagascar, Comoros, Mascarene and Seychelles, in South Asia, Australia, in the Pacific region to Tahiti and the United States.
The rhizome is short, creeping, thick, 4-8 mm in diameter, white and waxy, densely covered on top with black scales up to 4 mm in length. Leaves closely spaced, hard, glabrous, leathery. Petioles are short or completely absent. The leaf blade is simple, narrowly elliptical, 15-175 cm long, with a wavy solid edge and small pits on the surface, which gave the name to the species. The top of the frond is rounded, gradually decreasing to a wide or narrow-winged base. The midvein prominently protrudes on both sides; lateral venation is not clearly expressed. Small round sori are irregularly distributed along the underside of the leaf blade.
 |  |
Microsorum point is used as a medicinal plant. The juice from its leaves is used as a laxative, diuretic and wound healing agent.
The species is very variable, the cultivation is dominated by cultivars with a leaf blade, divided from above like a ridge and resembling a fish tail.
Variety Grandicepsknown as Crested Fern or Fishtail Fern has wide and curly light green leaf blades up to 60-80 cm high, repeatedly dissected from above and tapering downwards.
Variety Kinnaree characterized by long and drooping fronds with their even stronger dissection into narrow lobes. An adult plant reaches 1 to 2 m in diameter and looks beautiful in hanging pots.
Microsorum centipede (Microsorum scolopendria) - one of the most popular ferns, also known as Polypodium scolopendria, according to the modern classification, transferred to another genus called Phymatodes scolopendria.
It grows from eastern South Africa to Mozambique, Eastern Zimbabwe, tropical Africa, Madagascar, Comoros and Mascarene Islands, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, China, Australia and Polynesia. Leads a terrestrial epiphytic or lithophytic lifestyle.
The rhizome is thick, up to 1 cm in diameter, long, spreads along the ground or climbs trees, resembling a scolopendra, covered with dark brown scales, with age they are lost and the rhizome acquires a light color. Leaves widely spaced, leathery, glabrous, up to 1 m tall, with a pleasant aroma. Petioles up to 45 cm long, straw-light brown, glabrous. The leaf blade is up to 60 × 30 cm, deltoid-ovate or broadly oblong, deeply pinnately dissected, with 4-8 pairs of lobes and an end segment. Lobes up to 15 × 3 cm, wider on sterile leaves, narrowly oblong, with sharp tips, whole edges and slightly wavy. On the lower side of the leaf, sporangia 2-3 mm in diameter are located in one or several rows on both sides of the midrib, protruding on the upper side in the form of small tubercles.
 |  |
Microsorum skolopendrovy is traditionally used in folk medicine in places of growth.
The variety is popular in culture Green wave - one of the brightest ferns bred in recent years. Vigorously growing rhizomes, filling the pot and extending beyond it, are able to climb up the supports and hang down, densely covered with dark green curly dense leaves up to 60 cm tall. In room conditions, it is unpretentious.
Microsorum thai (Microsorumthailandicum) was first found in Thailand and described in 2001; it also grows in Cambodia, Malaysia, South China, Taiwan.
It settles in crevices of limestone rocks in partial shade, prefers high air humidity. The inhabitants of Thailand called it the Scarab Fern due to the special cobalt color of the hard shiny leaves, and in other countries it is known as the Blue Fern.
The rhizome is 4-5 mm in diameter, covered with dark scales. The fronds are simple, narrowly elliptic, 15-45 cm long and 1.2-2.1 cm wide, without pronounced petioles. The leaf blade is rigid, glossy, with a metallic blue tint on the upper side, bluish green on the lower side, often bifurcated at the apex, and narrowed and winged at the base, the central vein protrudes from the inside of the leaf. Sori are located on the underside of the leaf.
 |  |
Fern is still quite rare, in indoor culture it is preferable to keep it in terrariums or greenhouses, where high air humidity is maintained. The specific blue tint appears best in dim light.
Pterygoid microsorum (Microsorum pteropus) - aquatic fern native to Asia, found in China, Thailand, Malaysia, can grow partially or completely in the aquatic environment. Known as Java Fern. Lanceolate leaves with a height of 15-30 cm extend upward from the rhizome. Variable species, depending on the place of growth, the plants differ in the shape and size of the leaves.
This unpretentious fern is widely used for aquarium decoration. It is planted on stones or driftwood, does not require a lot of light, multiplies well by dividing rhizomes and daughter plants, periodically forming on old leaves.
About cultivation - in the article Microsorum: care and reproduction.
Photo by the author
