Nephrolepis is a genus of about 30 species of ferns. It is the only genus in the family Nephrolepidaceae, placed in the suborder Aspleniineae (eupolypods I) of the order Polypodiales in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I).[1] (It is placed in the Dryopteridaceae in some other classifications.[2]) The genus is commonly referred to as macho ferns or Boston ferns.[citation needed] The fronds are long and narrow, and once-pinnate, in the case of one Bornean species reaching thirty feet (nine meters) in length.[3]
Phylogeny
The following cladogram for the suborder Polypodiineae (eupolypods I), based on the consensus cladogram in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I),[1] shows a likely phylogenetic relationship between Nephrolepidaceae and the other families of the clade.
Some species of Nephrolepis are grown as ornamental plants.
Nephrolepis exaltata and Nephrolepis obliterata are reported to be good plants for cleaning indoor air.[6]
Some Nephrolepis species may prove to be a good source of new antimicrobial chemicals.[7]
References
^ abcPPG I (2016), "A community-derived classification for extant lycophytes and ferns", Journal of Systematics and Evolution, 54 (6): 563–603, doi:10.1111/jse.12229, S2CID39980610
^Finn, Judith; Parsons, Jerry (Spring 1996). "A Mind-Boggling Variety of Life". Newsletter of the Univ. Of Calif. Botanic Gardens at Berkeley. 21 (2): 2.
^Kent D. Kobayashi; Andrew J. Kaufman; John Griffis & James McConnell (2007). "Using Houseplants to Clean Indoor Air"(PDF). Cooperative Extension Service, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources University of Hawai'i at Manoa: Ornamentals and Flowers. OF-37.
^Rani D, Khare PB, Dantu PK"In Vitro Antibacterial and Antifungal Properties of Aqueous and Non-Aqueous Frond Extracts of Psilotum nudum, Nephrolepis biserrata and Nephrolepis cordifolia." Indian J Pharm Sci. 2010 Nov;72(6):818-22
Further reading
Hennequin, S., Hovenkamp, P., Christenhusz, M.J.M. & Schneider, H. (2010) Phylogenetics and biogeography of Nephrolepis – a tale of old settlers and young tramps. Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 164(2): 113–127. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2010.01076.x
Lorenzi, H. & Souza, M. S. (2001). Plantas Ornamentais no Brasil: arbustivas, herbáceas e trepadeiras.PlantarumISBN85-86714-12-7
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nephrolepis.
