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'''''Azolla filiculoides''''' ('''water fern''') is a species of ''[[Azolla]]'', native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the [[Americas]] as well as most of the old world including Asia and Australia.
'''''Azolla filiculoides''''' ('''water fern''') is a species of ''[[Azolla]]'', native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the [[Americas]] as well as most of the old world including Asia and Australia.


It is a floating [[aquatic fern]], with very fast growth, capable of spreading over lake surfaces to give complete coverage of the water in only a few months. Each individual plant is 1–2 cm across, green tinged pink, orange or red at the edges, branching freely, and breaking into smaller sections as it grows. It is not tolerant of cold temperatures and, in temperate regions it largely dies back in winter, surviving by means of submerged buds. Like other species of ''Azolla'', it can [[nitrogen fixation|fix nitrogen]] from the air.
It is a floating [[aquatic fern]], with very fast growth, capable of spreading over lake surfaces to give complete coverage of the water in only a few months. Each individual plant is 1–2&nbsp;cm across, green tinged pink, orange or red at the edges, branching freely, and breaking into smaller sections as it grows. It is not tolerant of cold temperatures and, in temperate regions it largely dies back in winter, surviving by means of submerged buds. It harbors the diazotrophic organism, ''Nostoc azollae,'' in specialized leaf pockets. This ancient symbiosis allows ''N. azollae'' to [[nitrogen fixation|fix nitrogen]] from the air and contribute to the fern's metabolism<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Brouwer|first=Paul|last2=Bräutigam|first2=Andrea|last3=Buijs|first3=Valerie A.|last4=Tazelaar|first4=Anne O. E.|last5=van der Werf|first5=Adrie|last6=Schlüter|first6=Urte|last7=Reichart|first7=Gert-Jan|last8=Bolger|first8=Anthony|last9=Usadel|first9=Björn|last10=Weber|first10=Andreas P. M.|last11=Schluepmann|first11=Henriette|date=2017-03-31|title=Metabolic Adaptation, a Specialized Leaf Organ Structure and Vascular Responses to Diurnal N2 Fixation by Nostoc azollae Sustain the Astonishing Productivity of Azolla Ferns without Nitrogen Fertilizer|url=http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpls.2017.00442/full|journal=Frontiers in Plant Science|volume=8|doi=10.3389/fpls.2017.00442|issn=1664-462X|pmc=PMC5374210|pmid=28408911}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=Meeks|first=John C.|title=Physiological Adaptations in Nitrogen-fixing Nostoc–PlantSymbiotic Associations|date=2009|url=https://doi.org/10.1007/7171_2007_101|work=Prokaryotic Symbionts in Plants|pages=181–205|editor-last=Pawlowski|editor-first=Katharina|series=Microbiology Monographs|place=Berlin, Heidelberg|publisher=Springer|language=en|doi=10.1007/7171_2007_101|isbn=978-3-540-75460-2|access-date=2020-09-16}}</ref>.


[[Fossil]] records from as recent as the last [[interglacial]]s are known from several locations in [[Europe]] (Hyde ''et al.'' 1978).
[[Fossil]] records from as recent as the last [[interglacial]]s are known from several locations in [[Europe]] (Hyde ''et al.'' 1978).

Revision as of 01:30, 16 September 2020

Azolla filiculoides
Zoomed picture of Azolla filiculoides

Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Polypodiophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Salviniales
Family: Salviniaceae
Genus: Azolla
Species:
A. filiculoides
Binomial name
Azolla filiculoides
Synonyms[2][3]
  • Azolla arbuscula Desv.
  • Azolla caroliniana Willd.
  • Azolla japonica Franch. & Sav.
  • Azolla magellanica Willd.
  • Azolla microphylla Kaulf.
  • Azolla pinnata var. japonica (Franch. & Sav.) Franch. & Sav.
  • Azolla squamosa Molina

Azolla filiculoides (water fern) is a species of Azolla, native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Americas as well as most of the old world including Asia and Australia.

It is a floating aquatic fern, with very fast growth, capable of spreading over lake surfaces to give complete coverage of the water in only a few months. Each individual plant is 1–2 cm across, green tinged pink, orange or red at the edges, branching freely, and breaking into smaller sections as it grows. It is not tolerant of cold temperatures and, in temperate regions it largely dies back in winter, surviving by means of submerged buds. It harbors the diazotrophic organism, Nostoc azollae, in specialized leaf pockets. This ancient symbiosis allows N. azollae to fix nitrogen from the air and contribute to the fern's metabolism[4][5].

Fossil records from as recent as the last interglacials are known from several locations in Europe (Hyde et al. 1978).

Azolla filiculoides is one of just two fern species for which a reference genome has been published.[6][7]

Identification

The only sure method of distinguishing this species from Azolla cristata (long incorrectly known as A. caroliniana) is to examine the trichomes on the upper surfaces of the leaves. Trichomes are small protuberances that create water resistance. They are unicellular in A. filiculoides but septate (two-celled) in A. cristata.[8]

Cultivation

The species has been introduced to many regions of the Old World, grown for its nitrogen-fixing ability that may be used to enhance the growth rate of crops grown in water, such as rice, or by removal from lakes for use as green manure. It has become naturalized, sometimes also an invasive species, in several regions, including western Europe, southern Africa, tropical Asia and New Zealand.

Distribution

Ireland: Introduced into Clandeboye Lake, Co. Down.[9]

  • Azolla filiculoides
  • Azolla filiculoides (pink-tinged) growing together with Lemna minor duckweed
  • Single Azolla filiculoides plant showing the roots

References

  1. ^ In: Encyclopédie Méthodique, Botanique 1(1): 343. 1783. "Name - Azolla Lam". Tropicos. Saint Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved February 19, 2010. Annotation: a sp. nov. reference for Azolla filiculoides
    Type Specimens HT: Azolla filiculoides
  2. ^ a b Hussner, A. (2006). "NOBANIS -- Invasive Alien Species Fact Sheet -- Azolla filiculoides" (PDF). Online Database of the North European and Baltic Network on Invasive Alien Species. Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf. Retrieved February 19, 2010.
  3. ^ Tropicos
  4. ^ Brouwer, Paul; Bräutigam, Andrea; Buijs, Valerie A.; Tazelaar, Anne O. E.; van der Werf, Adrie; Schlüter, Urte; Reichart, Gert-Jan; Bolger, Anthony; Usadel, Björn; Weber, Andreas P. M.; Schluepmann, Henriette (2017-03-31). "Metabolic Adaptation, a Specialized Leaf Organ Structure and Vascular Responses to Diurnal N2 Fixation by Nostoc azollae Sustain the Astonishing Productivity of Azolla Ferns without Nitrogen Fertilizer". Frontiers in Plant Science. 8. doi:10.3389/fpls.2017.00442. ISSN 1664-462X. PMC 5374210. PMID 28408911.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: PMC format (link) CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  5. ^ Meeks, John C. (2009), Pawlowski, Katharina (ed.), "Physiological Adaptations in Nitrogen-fixing Nostoc–PlantSymbiotic Associations", Prokaryotic Symbionts in Plants, Microbiology Monographs, Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer, pp. 181–205, doi:10.1007/7171_2007_101, ISBN 978-3-540-75460-2, retrieved 2020-09-16
  6. ^ Li, Fay-Wei; Brouwer, Paul; Carretero-Paulet, Lorenzo; Cheng, Shifeng; de Vries, Jan; Delaux, Pierre-Marc; Eily, Ariana; Koppers, Nils; Kuo, Li-Yaung (2018-07-02). "Fern genomes elucidate land plant evolution and cyanobacterial symbioses". Nature Plants. 4 (7): 460–472. doi:10.1038/s41477-018-0188-8. ISSN 2055-0278. PMC 6786969. PMID 29967517.
  7. ^ E360 Digest, Can A Tiny Fern Help Fight Climate Change and Cut Fertilizer Use?, Yale Environment 360, July 11, 2018
  8. ^ Evrard, C.; Van Hove, C. (2004). "Taxonomy of the American Azolla Species (Azollaceae): A Critical Review". Systematics and Geography of Plants. 74 (2): 301–318.
  9. ^ Hackney, P. (Ed) 1992. Stewart & Corry's Flora of the North-east of Ireland. Third Edition. Institute of Irish Studies & The Queen's University of Belfast. ISBN 0-85389-446-9(HB)

Further reading

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