Crepidomanes

Scientific name

Crepidomanes C. Presl

Common names

Taiwanese water fern, mini bolbitis

Family

Hymenophyllaceae

Similar genera

Bolbitis

Native distribution

north India to Japan, and throughout Malesia to New Guinea

Species cultivated

Crepidomanes auriculatum (Blume) K. Iwats.

Adventive distribution

information not available

Weed status

information not available

Habit

naturally a terrestrialterrestrial:
(adj) growing on land as opposed to living in water
or epiphyticepiphytic:
(adj) of a plant growing on another plant but not parasitic; plant grown on may be alive or, e.g., a dead tree trunk
fern; cultivated as an emergentemergent:
(adj) (syn. emersed) with parts raised out of the water; extending up out of the water
or submergedsubmerged:
(adj) (syn. submersed) under water; submerged below the water surface
aquatic fern; long-creeping to climbing, thick

Brief description

Rhizomatous rhizomatous:
(adj) possessing rhizomes
fern. Densely covered with dark brown multicellular hairs, hairs caducouscaducous:
(adj) falling off easily or at an early stage
. Fronds stipitatestipitate:
(adj) borne on a stipe or stalk
, mostly glabrousglabrous:
(adj) without hairs or scales
, simple pinnatepinnate:
(adj) in the form of a feather; of, e.g., leaflets, lobes, or veins: arranged in two rows along an axis
; stipes remote, slender, wingless or narrowly winged, young plants ± with multicellular hairs; laminalamina:
(n) the expanded portion of a leaf or petal
linear-lanceolate, apexapex:
(n) the point farthest from the point of attachment; the tip (often pointed)
acuminateacuminate:
(adj) tapering gradually to a point and forming more or less concave sides
, base gradually narrows; pinnaepinnae:
(n) one of the primary divisions or leaflets in a compound leaf or frond
sessile, ovate-oblong, lobedlobed:
(adj) divided into (usually rounded) segments
to varying degrees, apexapex:
(n) the point farthest from the point of attachment; the tip (often pointed)
rounded, margins entireentire:
(adj) having a continuous margin that is not toothed or lobed
; venationvenation:
(n) the arrangement of veins in a leaf
pinnatepinnate:
(adj) in the form of a feather; of, e.g., leaflets, lobes, or veins: arranged in two rows along an axis
; green to deep green.

Natural habitat

typically found on tree trunks in dense mountain forests

Additional comments

Crepidomanes contains approximately 30 species. It is sometimes missidentified as 'mini-Bolbitis'. Crepidomanes auriculatum is not a true aquatic, but tolerates short periods of submersion. Also known by the synonyms Cephalomanes auriculatum (Blume) Bosch and Vandenboschia auriculata (Blume) Copel. and occasionally sold under the name Hymenasplenium obscurum (Blume) Tagawa, which is not related to or a synonym of Crepidomanes auriculatum.