Microgramma nitida

Microgramma nitida
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Embryophytes
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Polypodiophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Polypodiales
Suborder: Polypodiineae
Family: Polypodiaceae
Genus: Microgramma
Species:
M. nitida
Binomial name
Microgramma nitida
(J.Sm.) A.R.Sm.
Synonyms[1]
  • Phlebodium nitidum J.Sm.
  • Phymatodes palmeri (Maxon) Conz.
  • Anapeltis palmeri (Maxon) Pic.Serm.
  • Polypodium palmeri Maxon

Microgramma nitida, with no commonly used English name other than snake fern, shared with several other plants, is a species of epiphytic fern native mostly to tropical wet forests of the New World. It belongs to the family Polypodiaceae.[1]

Description

Noteworthy features of Microgramma nitida:[2][3]

  • Stem-like rhizomes are long-creeping, up to 6 mm (1⁄4 in) thick, covered with silvery or whitish hairs (trichomes) and brown to reddish scales; leaves are spaced along the stems.
  • Leaves with no lobes, teeth or indentations usually are at least twice as long as wide and up to 3 cm (1+1⁄8 in) across. No scales dot the lower surfaces. Leaf veins coming off the midvein are hard to see, but they connect with one another, not extending to the margin.
  • Sori are roundish and well separated from one another, appearing in one row between the midrib and margin.

Distribution

Microgramma nitida occurs in Mexico's eastern states from Tamaulipas southward, throughout Central America, and in the Caribbean on the islands of Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and San Andrés and Providencia.[4] In the US state of Florida Microgramma nitida has escaped from cultivation.[2]

Habitat

In Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula Microgramma nitida occurs both in dry forest and moist ones as well as in the mangroves.[5] In the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca it occurs in dry scrubland.[6] In northeastern Honduras it is found in an area with tropical forest with yearly rainfall ranging between 1600 and 3600 mm (63-142 inches).[7]

As a terrarium plant

Microgramma nitida is marketed as perfect for decorating terrarium walls, adding a certain texture with its bright green leaves and spreading slowly via creeping rhizomes. It is well-suited to terrariums where light is filtered and diffused, and humidity levels are kept high.[8]

In traditional medicine

In the Mexican states of Puebla and Tabasco, a decoction made from the rhizome of Microgramma nitida is used to treat kidney problems. A decoction of other parts is drunk to alleviate pain of the liver and purify the blood. In Veracruz state it has been documented as used for snakebite.[9] Among the Mayan people of the Yucatan Peninsula it is used for stomach ache, including cramps, colics and gastritis, as well as internal parasites.[10]

Taxonomy

Microgramma nitida was first formally described in 1846 under the basionym Phlebotium nitidum by John Smith, the first curator at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The Gardens' plant was sterile, noted as inhabiting Honduras, as having been introduced into the Gardens in 1844 by Mrs. Col. Macdonald, and as being "... apparently an undescribed species."[3]

Phylogeny

Molecular phylogenetic analysis based on sequence analysis from five plastid regions of Microgramma species recognized four main clades inside the genus, of which Microgramma nitida belonged to the Persicariifolia clade. This clade comprises species usually occurring as epiphytes on tree trunks, but which keep contact with soil through rhizomes or pending roots. It is sister to Microgramma lindbergii.[11]

Etymology

The genus name Microgramma derives from the Greek mikros meaning "small", and gramme, meaning "line." This refers to the elongate sori observed on the type species,[12] though Microgramma nitida has round sori.

The species name nitida is from Latin meaning "shiny."[13] When John Smith named the taxon he did not say what he saw about the fern that was shiny,[3] though possibly the fern's indumentum of silvery or whitish, hair-like (trichomes) on the rhizomes could suggest a certain luminescence.

References

  1. ^ a b "Microgramma nitida (J.Sm.) A.R.Sm". Plants of the World Online. United Kingdom: Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Retrieved May 22, 2026.
  2. ^ a b Weakley, A.S., and Southeastern Flora Team (2026). "Key to Polypodiaceae". Flora of the southeastern United States Web. Chapel Hill, NC, USA: University of North Carolina Herbarium, North Carolina Botanical Garden. Retrieved May 22, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ a b c Smith, W.J. (1846). "An Enumeration of Ferns Cultivated in the Royal Gardens at Kew, in December 1845; with Characters and Observations on Some of the Genera and Species". In Hooker, William Jackson (ed.). Companion to the Botanical Magazine (PDF). 3. Vol. 2 (Vol. LXXII of the whole Work ed.). London: Reeve, Brothers. p. 13.
  4. ^ Hassler, Michael (May 20, 2026). "World Plants". worldplants.de. Germany. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  5. ^ "Taxón: Microgramma nitida (J. Sm.) A. R. Sm". Flora de La Península de Yucatán (in Spanish). Mérida, Yucatán, México: Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, A.C. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  6. ^ Pérez-García, Eduardo A.; Meave, Jorge; Gallardo, Claudia (2001). "Vegetación y flora de la Region de Nizanda, Istmo de Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, México" (PDF). Acta Botanica Mexicana (in Spanish and English). 56. Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, México: Instituto de Ecología, A.C.: 19–88. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  7. ^ Reyes-Chávez, Johan; Rojas-Alvarado, Alexander; Reyes-Calderon, Onán (February 17, 2020). "Cuatro nuevos registros para la flora hondureña y un listado preliminar de pteridófitas y licófitas para la Reserva del Hombre y Biósfera del Río Plátano, Honduras". Acta botánica mexicana (in Spanish and English). 1. SciELO. doi:10.21829/abm126.2019.1448. hdl:11056/22289. ISSN 0187-7151. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  8. ^ "Microgramma nitida". growtropicals.com. Yorkshire, United Kingdom: Growtropicals. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  9. ^ "Calahuala". Atlas de las Plantas de la Medicina Tradicional Mexicana (in Spanish). Mexico City, Mexico: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. 2009. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  10. ^ Heinrich, Michael; Ankli, Frei; Barbara; et al. (1998). "Medicinal Plants in Mexico: Healers' Consensus and Cultural Importance" (PDF). Social Science & Medicine. 47 (11). Elsevier Science Ltd.: 1859–1871. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  11. ^ Almeida, Thaís Elias; Salino, Alexandre; Dubuisson, Jean-Yves; Hennequin, Sabine (July 2021). "Insights on long-distance dispersal, ecological and morphological evolution in the fern genus Microgramma from phylogenetic inferences". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 196 (3). United Kingdom: Oxford Academic: 294–312. doi:10.1093/botlinnean/boaa107. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  12. ^ Nauman, Clifton E. "Microgramma C. Presl. In Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA)". St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA, USA: New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press via eFloras.org. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  13. ^ "Camillea nitida". MycoBank Database. International Mycological Association. 2023. Retrieved May 23, 2026.

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