Ophioglossum californicum

Ophioglossum californicum, known by the common name California adder's tongue, is an uncommon species of fern in the family Ophioglossaceae.

Ophioglossum californicum
On Carmel Mountain, San Diego, California.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Division:	Polypodiophyta
Class:	Polypodiopsida
Order:	Ophioglossales
Family:	Ophioglossaceae
Genus:	Ophioglossum
Species:	O. californicum
Binomial name
Ophioglossum californicum Prantl

The fern is native to California, and Baja California in Northwestern Mexico. It is found in the San Joaquin Valley, Sierra Nevada foothills, and along the central and southern coast regions.^[1] Habitats include moist areas, such as wet pastures and vernal pools, coastal grasslands, and coastal/montane/interior chaparral micro-habitats. It becomes very rare in dry years.

Description

Ophioglossum californicum is a small, fleshy perennial plant growing from a caudex no more than 1.5 centimeters wide.

It produces one leaf per year. The leaf is divided into a thick, green blade-shaped part, which is sterile, and a fertile stalk lined with two rows of sporangia, the reproductive parts.

See also

• California coastal sage and chaparral ecoregion
• California montane chaparral and woodlands
• California interior chaparral and woodlands