| Whisk Fern |
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Closeup of the branches of a whisk fern, Psilotum nudum
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| Scientific classification |
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| Species |
- Psilotum nudum (L.) Beauvois - Whisk
Fern
- Psilotum complanatum Sw. - Whisk Fern
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The whisk ferns, traditionally thought not to be true ferns, are odd, "primitive" vascular plants that
reproduces solely by spores, without seeds. Recent evidence has suggested that they may in fact be ferns that have lost a number
of pteridophytic characteristics, but their status is still uncertain.
There are two species, as listed in the taxobox, with a hybrid known: Psilotum x intermedium W. H. Wagner.
The distribution of Psilotum is tropical and subtropical, in the New
World, Asia, and the Pacific. The highest
latitudes known are in South Carolina and southern Japan for P. nudum.
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