Ophioglossum
Ophioglossum is a genus of about 25-30 species of Ophioglossales in the family
Ophioglossaceae, with a cosmopolitan but primarily tropical and subtropical distribution. The name
Ophioglossum comes form the Greek, and means "snake-tongue".
Adders-tongues are so-called because the
spore-bearing stalk is thought to resemble a
snake's tongue. Each plant typically sends up a small, undivided leaf blade with netted venation, and the spore stalk forks from the leaf stalk, terminating in sporangia which are partially concealed within a structure with slitted sides.
Encyclopedia
Ophioglossum is a genus of about 25-30 species of Ophioglossales in the family
Ophioglossaceae, with a cosmopolitan but primarily tropical and subtropical distribution. The name
Ophioglossum comes form the Greek, and means "snake-tongue".
Adders-tongues are so-called because the
spore-bearing stalk is thought to resemble a
snake's tongue. Each plant typically sends up a small, undivided leaf blade with netted venation, and the spore stalk forks from the leaf stalk, terminating in sporangia which are partially concealed within a structure with slitted sides. The plant grows from a central, budding, fleshy structure with fleshy, radiating roots. When the leaf blade is present, there is not always a spore stalk present, and the plants do not always send up a leaf, sometimes going for a year to a period of years living only under the soil, nourished by association with soil
fungi.
Ophioglossum has the highest
chromosome count of any living organism, with 1260.
