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Psilotum nudum - Whisk Fern

Distinctive vascular plants lacking the usual fundamental organs of the sporophyte generation. I.e., there are no definable stems, roots, nor leaves. Instead, the plant is constructed from undifferentiated axes, some of which are below ground and, hence, rhizome-like, and others which diverge aerially and are green and photosynthetic. The aerial stems produce three-lobed sporangia in the axils of forked bracts. The small white dots visible on these stems are stomata.

The Psilotum plants cultivated in the UR greenhouse were obtained from Logee's Greenhouses (Danielson CT). The first several plants purchased did not thrive but they are well established now. The plants sporulate freely and new sporophytes pop up in the soil of other potted plants throughout the greenhouses.