| Adiantum vivesii | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Pteridophyta |
| Class: | Pteridopsida |
| Order: | Pteridales |
| Family: | Adiantaceae |
| Genus: | Adiantum |
| Species: | A. vivesii |
| Binomial name | |
| Adiantum vivesii Proctor |
|
Adiantum vivesii is a rare species of fern known by the common name Puerto Rico maidenhair. It is in the maidenhair fern genus Adiantum.
Contents |
Adiantum vivesii is endemic to Puerto Rico, where it is known from a single population made up of perhaps 1000 individuals near Quebradillas, in the San Juan – Caguas – Guaynabo metropolitan area on the northern side of the island. [1] The fern was discovered in 1985 and described to science as a new species in 1989.[2] Soon after, it was listed as an endangered species.
In 2000, a student at the University of Puerto Rico published a master's thesis detailing her studies of the rare fern. She had carefully dug around most of the single population and discovered it was actually one individual connected by a long rhizome.[1] The fern produces spores but no gametophytes and there were no new, small individuals in the vicinity; the student concluded that the fern does not undergo sexual reproduction, only vegetative reproduction, sprouting up from its extensive rhizome.[1]
Evidence supports the conclusion that the fern is one plant that is a sterile hybrid of two common fern species, and as it does not reproduce but only increases in size by resprouting, it is not a valid species in its own right.[1] Therefore, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service recommends it be removed from the endangered species list.[3] As of 2011 it is still on the list.