Christensenia

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Christensenia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Pteridophyta
Class: Marattiopsida
Order: Marattiales
Family: Marattiaceae
Genus: Christensenia
Maxon
Species

See text.

Christensenia (syn. Kaulfussia C.Presl) is a genus of ferns in the botanical family Marattiaceae.

Christensenia (1 or 2 species) is unique in the Marattiaceae, because of its reticulate venation, palmately arranged leaves and radial synangia. Christensenia produces enormous amounts of spores, up to 7000 spores per sporangium. The genus is confined to the Indo-Malayan region. Rolleri (1993) revised the genus and recognized two species (C. aesculifolia and C. lobbiana, and the variety C. a. var. korthalsii) based on minor, non-discriminative characters. The presence of a radial synangium is an archaic character, very similar to some of the fossil Asterothecaceae/Psaroniaceae, such as Scolecopteris. Christensenia has no fossil record.

Species

  • Christensenia aesculifolia (Blume) Maxon
  • Christensenia assamica (Griff.) Ching
  • Christensenia lobbiana (de Vriese) Rolleri

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