# Hitchhiker fern



## Yo-han (Oct 15, 2010)

I found this fern in a pot of Bolbitis heteroclita 'diformis'. I know some ferns can have highly variable leaves. Is this also Bolbitis, or does anybody what it might be?


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## CowBoYReX (Jan 27, 2014)

The tip makes me believe it is B. Heudelotii, just not a very healthy one.


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## miremonster (Mar 26, 2006)

This is just a fertile (spore-bearing) leaf of the heteroclita "difformis". The B. heteroclita variants, as well as other Bolbitis species, show a remarkable difference between sterile and fertile leaves which are mostly longer stalked and less pinnate. The whole underside of this "difformis" leaf is covered with sporangia. Btw., its synonym, Edanyoa difformis, refers to this difference (difformis = "with 2 forms").
Compare: http://quod.lib.umich.edu/h/herb2ic/x-mich1191294/mich1191294___tif


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## CowBoYReX (Jan 27, 2014)

miremonster said:


> This is just a fertile (spore-bearing) leaf of the heteroclita "difformis". The B. heteroclita variants, as well as other Bolbitis species, show a remarkable difference between sterile and fertile leaves which are mostly longer stalked and less pinnate. The whole underside of this "difformis" leaf is covered with sporangia. Btw., its synonym, Edanyoa difformis, refers to this difference (difformis = "with 2 forms").
> Compare: http://quod.lib.umich.edu/h/herb2ic/x-mich1191294/mich1191294___tif


That is good information, I Love learning new things. My only question is, why doesn't difformis mean the difference between immersed and emersed leaves?


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## Yo-han (Oct 15, 2010)

miremonster said:


> This is just a fertile (spore-bearing) leaf of the heteroclita "difformis". The B. heteroclita variants, as well as other Bolbitis species, show a remarkable difference between sterile and fertile leaves which are mostly longer stalked and less pinnate. The whole underside of this "difformis" leaf is covered with sporangia. Btw., its synonym, Edanyoa difformis, refers to this difference (difformis = "with 2 forms").
> Compare: http://quod.lib.umich.edu/h/herb2ic/x-mich1191294/mich1191294___tif


Exactly what I was afraid of but couldn't find the answer online, thank you Heiko!


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## miremonster (Mar 26, 2006)

CowBoYReX said:


> That is good information, I Love learning new things. My only question is, why doesn't difformis mean the difference between immersed and emersed leaves?


I think the author, Copeland, hasn't seen any submerged leaves on it when he described it as species in 1952. The herbarium material that was collected by Edaño on ****** island, Philippines, has apparently only emersed fertile and sterile leaves.


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