Stats

Lifespan

Perennial

Size

Small

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Freshwater wetland

Range

Southeast Asia

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Spores

Defense

Toxins

Status

Rare

About

This aquatic fern grows attached to wet rocks and tree roots in Southeast Asia. It reproduces by sprouting tiny plantlets directly from the tips of its mature leaves.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Polypodiopsida

Order

Polypodiales

Family

Polypodiaceae

Genus

Leptochilus

Species

Leptochilus pteropus