Schizaea is a small genus of specialized ferns placed in the family Schizaeaceae, within the order Schizaeales and class Polypodiopsida (leptosporangiate ferns). The genus was described by J.E. Smith and comprises roughly two dozen species. Common names include curlygrass fern and comb fern.
The genus is highly distinctive and bears little resemblance to the popular image of a fern. Sterile fronds, called trophophylls, are narrow and grass-like, making individual plants easy to overlook in the field. Fertile fronds (sporophylls) are similar in form but terminate in a small, pinnate fertile segment at the apex; the sessile spore capsules are borne on the upper surface of the pinnules. This unusual morphology, combined with the plants' small stature, means Schizaea species are frequently missed during botanical surveys.
Species occur across widely separated regions of the tropics and subtropics: much of the tropical Old World and New World, parts of the eastern United States, Chile, the Falkland Islands, various Pacific islands including New Caledonia, Australia, and New Zealand. At least two species — including Schizaea pectinata — are endemic to South Africa.
Etymology
The genus name Schizaea derives from the Greek schizein (σχίζειν), meaning "to split" or "to cleave," a reference to the divided or cleft fertile pinnules that bear the spore capsules. The genus was named by the English botanist James Edward Smith.
Distribution
Schizaea species are distributed across a broad range of tropical and subtropical regions. The genus is found throughout much of the tropical Old World and New World, in parts of the eastern United States, Chile, the Falkland Islands, numerous Pacific islands (including several in New Caledonia), Australia, and New Zealand. In Africa, at least two species are restricted to South Africa.
Ecology
Schizaea species are characteristically small and inconspicuous, adapted to habitats where they are easily overlooked. Their grass-like sterile fronds allow them to blend into low herbaceous vegetation, peatlands, and seasonally wet or boggy ground that they often inhabit.
Taxonomy Notes
Schizaea belongs to the family Schizaeaceae in the order Schizaeales, one of the more ancient lineages of leptosporangiate ferns (class Polypodiopsida). Despite their grass-like appearance, members of the genus are accepted as true ferns. The genus was established by J.E. Smith and the GBIF backbone recognises approximately 26 accepted species-level taxa.
