I am back in New York after spending 10 wonderful days with my family in Brazil. In contrast to temperatures above 30 C and lots of tropical ferns, I am now facing negative Celsius and the only ferns I am seeing around belong to the Onocleaceae [i.e., Matteuccia and Onoclea]. These plants have strong sterile-fertile leaf dimorphy. The sterile leaves are sensitive to low temperatures, dying back in winter, but the fertile ones persist throughout the season to release their spores on late winter or early spring. They are also known to store starch in modified petiole bases (trophopods).
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- M. struthiopteris – habit
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- M. struthiopteris – fertile leaves in snow
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- M. struthiopteris – lamina apex
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- M. struthiopteris – lamina base
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- M. struthiopteris – leaf detail
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- M. struthiopteris – leaf abaxially
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- M. struthiopteris – leaf adaxially
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- M. struthiopteris – sori, pinnae x-sect
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- M. struthiopteris – petiole base
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- M. struthiopteris – petiole scales
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- M. struthiopteris – petiole cross section
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- M. struthiopteris – vascular bundles and aerophores
