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Mimosa pudica pudica "shy, bashful or shrinking"; also called sensitive plant, sleep Plant
creeping annual or perennial flowering plant of the pea/legume family Fabaceae and Magnoliopsida taxon, often grown for its curiosity value: the compound leaves fold inward and droop when touched or shaken, defending themselves from harm, and re-open a few minutes later. Perhaps this reflex was an adaption to predators and is a defense mechanism to scare predators away, or maybe it is an adaption to retain more water by shading itself to decrease water loss by heat of evaporation. The species is native to South America and Central America, but is now a pantropical weed. It can also be found in Asia in countries such as Bangladesh, Thailand, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Japan, Sri Lanka, Guam and well across the southern part of the United States. It is also found as an invasive weed in Far North Queensland, Australia. It grows mostly in undisturbed shady areas, under trees or shrubs.
Mimosa pudica was first formally described by Carl Linnaeus in Species Plantarum in 1753. The species epithet, pudica, is Latin for "bashful" or "shrinking", alluding to its shrinking reaction to contact.The species is known by numerous common names including sensitive plant, humble plant, shame plant, and touch-me-not.
stem is erect in young plants, but becomes creeping or trailing with age. It can hang very low and become floppy. The stem is slender, branching, and sparsely to densely prickly, growing to a length of 1.5 m (5 ft).
The leaves are bipinnately compound, with one or two pinnae pairs, and 10–26 leaflets per pinna. The petioles are also prickly. Pedunculate (stalked) pale pink or purple flower heads arise from the leaf axils in mid summer with more and more flowers as the plant gets older. The globose to ovoid heads are 8–10 mm in diameter (excluding the stamens). On close examination, it is seen that the floret petals are red in their upper part and the filaments are pink to lavender. The fruit consists of clusters of 2–8 pods from 1–2 cm long each, these being prickly on the margins. The pods break into 2–5 segments and contain pale brown seeds some 2.5 mm long. The flowers are insect pollinated and wind pollinated. The seeds have hard seed coats which restrict germination and make osmotic pressure and soil acidity less significant hindrances. High temperatures are the main stimuli that cause the seeds to end dormancy.
The roots of Mimosa pudica create carbon disulfide, which prevents certain pathogenic and mycorrhizal fungi from growing within the plant’s rhizosphere. This allows the formation of nodules on the roots of the plant that contain endosymbiotic diazotrophs, which fix atmospheric nitrogen and convert it into a form that is usable by the plant.
Mimosa pudica is well known for its rapid plant movement. Like a number of other plant species, it undergoes changes in leaf orientation termed "sleep" or nyctinasticmovement. The foliage closes during darkness and reopens in light.This was first studied by the French scientist Jean-Jacques d'Ortous de Mairan.
The leaflets also close when stimulated in other ways, such as touching, warming, blowing, shaking, which are all encapsulated within mechanical or electrical stimulation. These types of movements have been termed seismonastic movements. The main structure mechanistically responsible for the drooping of the leaves is the (pulvinus). The stimulus is transmitted as an action potential from a stimulated leaflet, to the leaflet's swollen base (pulvinus), and from there to the pulvini of the other leaflets, which run along the length of the leaf's rachis. The action potential then passes into the petiole, and finally to the large pulvinus at the end of the petiole, where the leaf attaches to the stem. The pulvini cells gain and lose turgor due to water moving in and out of these cells, and multiple ion concentrations play a role in the manipulation of water movement. Ions cannot easily move in and out of cells, so protein channels such as voltage-gated potassium channels and calcium-permeable anion channels are responsible for allowing potassium and calcium, respectively, to flow through the cell membrane, making cells permeable to these ions. The action potential causes potassium ions to flow out from the vacuoles of cells in the various pulvini. Differences in turgidity in different regions of the leaf and stem results in the closing of the leaflets and the collapse of the leaf petiole.Other important proteins include H+-ATPases, aquaporins, and actin, which all aid in the redistribution of ions in the pulvini, especially during a seismonastic response. H+-ATPases and aquaporins aid in the direct movement of water molecules, while actin’s role has a more biochemical explanation. Actin is composed of many phosphorylated tyrosine (an amino acid) molecules, and manipulation of how phosphorylated the tyrosine molecules are directly correlates to how much the M. pudica leaves droop.
Mushroom, toadstool
A mushroom, ortoadstool, is the fleshy,spore-bearing fruiting body of afungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on itsfoodsource.The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom,Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi (Basidiomycota,Agaricomycetes) that have a stem (stipe), a cap (pileus), and gills (lamellae, sing.lamella) on the underside of the cap. "Mushroom" also describes a variety of other gilled fungi, with or without stems, therefore the term is used to describe the fleshy fruiting bodies of someAscomycota. These gills produce microscopic spores that help the fungus spread across the ground or its occupant surface.Forms deviating from the standardmorphologyusually have more specific names, such as "bolete", "puffball", "stinkhorn", and "morel", and gilled mushrooms themselves are often called "agarics" in reference to their similarity toAgaricusor their orderAgaricales. By extension, the term"mushroom" can also designate the entire fungus when in culture; thethallus(called amycelium) of species forming the fruiting bodies called mushrooms; or the species itself.Identifying mushrooms requires a basic understanding of theirmacroscopicstructure. Most areBasidiomycetesand gilled. Their spores,calledbasidiospores, are produced on the gills and fall in a fine rain of powder from under the caps as a result. At the microscopic level, the basidiospores are shot offbasidiaand then fall between the gills in the dead air space. As a result, for most mushrooms, if the cap is cut off and placed gill-side-down overnight, a powdery impression reflecting the shape of the gills (or pores, or spines, etc.) is formed (when the fruit body is sporulating). The color of the powdery print, called aspore print, is used to help classify mushrooms and can help to identify them. Spore print colors include white (most common), brown, black, purple-brown, pink, yellow, and creamy, but almost never blue, green, or red.[1]While modern identification of mushrooms is quickly becoming molecular, the standard methods for identification are still used by most and have developed into a fine art harking back tomedievaltimes and theVictorian era, combined with microscopic examination. The presence of juices upon breaking, bruising reactions, odors, tastes, shades of color, habitat, habit, and season are all considered by both amateur and professional mycologists. Tasting and smelling mushrooms carries its own hazards because of poisons andallergens. Chemicaltestsare also used for some genera.
Syzygium cumini, jambolan, Java plum, black plum, jamun plant
A slow growing species, it can reach heights of upto 30 m and can live more than 100 years. Its dense foliage provides shade and is grown just forits ornamental value. At the base of the tree, the bark is rough and dark grey, becoming lighter greyand smoother higher up. The wood is water resistant. Because of this it is used inrailwaysleepers and to install motors inwells. It is sometimes used to make cheap furniture and village dwellings though it is relatively hard to work on.The leaves which have an aroma similar to turpentine, are pinkish when young, changing to a leathery, glossy dark green with a yellow midrib asthey mature. The leaves are used as food for livestock, as they have good nutritional value.
The seed of the fruit is used in various alternative healing systems likeAyurveda,UnaniandChinese medicine.Wineandvinegarare also made from the fruit. It has a high source in vitamin A and vitamin C.The 1889 book 'The Useful Native Plants of Australia’ records that the plant was referred to as"Durobbi" by Indigenous Australians, and that "Thefruit is much eaten by the natives of India; in appearance it resembles a damson, has a harsh but sweetish flavour, somewhat astringent and acid. It is much eaten by birds, and is a favourite food of the large bat or flying fox. (Brandis).
Syzygium cuminitrees start flowering from Marchto April. Theflowersare fragrant and small, about 5 mm in diameter. Thefruitsdevelop by May or June and resemble largeberries; the fruit ofSyzygiumspecies is described as "drupaceous".The fruit isoblong,ovoid. Unripe fruit looks green. As it matures, its color changes to pink, then to shiningcrimsonred and finally to black color. A variant of the tree produces white coloured fruit. The fruit has a combination of sweet, mildly sour andastringentflavour and tends to colour the tongue purple.
The seed of the fruit is used in various alternative healing systems likeAyurveda,UnaniandChinese medicine.Wineandvinegarare also made from the fruit. It has a high source in vitamin A and vitamin C.The 1889 book 'The Useful Native Plants of Australia’ records that the plant was referred to as"Durobbi" by Indigenous Australians, and that "Thefruit is much eaten by the natives of India; in appearance it resembles a damson, has a harsh but sweetish flavour, somewhat astringent and acid. It is much eaten by birds, and is a favourite food of the large bat or flying fox. (Brandis).
Syzygium cuminitrees start flowering from Marchto April. Theflowersare fragrant and small, about 5 mm in diameter. Thefruitsdevelop by May or June and resemble largeberries; the fruit ofSyzygiumspecies is described as "drupaceous".The fruit isoblong,ovoid. Unripe fruit looks green. As it matures, its color changes to pink, then to shiningcrimsonred and finally to black color. A variant of the tree produces white coloured fruit. The fruit has a combination of sweet, mildly sour andastringentflavour and tends to colour the tongue purple.
Caryota mitis, the clustering fishtail palm tree
Caryota mitis, the clustering fishtail palm, is a species of palm native to southeast Asia from India to Java to southern China, now sparingly naturalized in southern Florida and in parts of Africa and Latin America. The species was originally described from Vietnam in 1790. In Florida, it grows in hummocks and in disturbed wooded areas.
Caryota mitis has clustered stems up to 10 m (33 feet) tall and 15 cm (6 inches) in diameter. Leaves can be up to 3 m (10 feet) long. Flowers are purple, fruits dark purple or red.
Caryota mitis has clustered stems up to 10 m (33 feet) tall and 15 cm (6 inches) in diameter. Leaves can be up to 3 m (10 feet) long. Flowers are purple, fruits dark purple or red.
poinciana, peacock flower, red bird of paradise, Mexican bird of paradise, dwarf poinciana, pride of india
Caesalpinia pulcherrima is a species of flowering plant in the pea family, Fabaceae, native to the tropics and subtropics of the Americas. It could be native to the West Indies, but its exact origin is unknown due to widespread cultivation. Common names for this species include poinciana, peacock flower, red bird of paradise, Mexican bird of paradise, dwarf poinciana, pride of Barbados, flos pavonis, and flamboyant-de-jardin. The Hawaiian name for this plant is ʻohai aliʻi.
It is a shrub growing to 3 m tall. In climates with few to no frosts, this plant will grow larger and is semievergreen. Grown in climates with light to moderate freezing, plant will die back to the ground depending on cold, but will rebound in mid- to late spring. This species is more sensitive to cold than others. The leaves are bipinnate, 20–40 cm long, bearing three to 10 pairs of pinnae, each with six to 10 pairs of leaflets 15–25 mm long and 10–15 mm broad. The flowers are borne in racemes up to 20 cm long, each flower with five yellow, orange, or red petals. The fruit is a pod 6–12 cm long.
Food
All seeds of Caesalpinia are poisonous. However, the seeds of some species are edible before they reach maturity (e.g. immature seeds of C. pulcherrima) or after treatment (e.g. C. bonduc after roasting).[6]
Medicinal
Maroon medicine men in Suriname have long known some of the medicinal uses for C. pulcherrima, which is known as ayoowiri. Four grams from the root are also said to induce abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy.
Ornamental
C. pulcherrima is the most widely cultivated species in the genus Caesalpinia. It is a striking ornamental plant, widely grown in domestic and public gardens in warm climates with mild winters, and has a beautiful inflorescence in yellow, red, and orange. Its small size and the fact that it tolerates pruning well allows it to be planted in groups to form a hedgerow; it can be also used to attract hummingbirds.
In cultivation in the UK this plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.
It is a shrub growing to 3 m tall. In climates with few to no frosts, this plant will grow larger and is semievergreen. Grown in climates with light to moderate freezing, plant will die back to the ground depending on cold, but will rebound in mid- to late spring. This species is more sensitive to cold than others. The leaves are bipinnate, 20–40 cm long, bearing three to 10 pairs of pinnae, each with six to 10 pairs of leaflets 15–25 mm long and 10–15 mm broad. The flowers are borne in racemes up to 20 cm long, each flower with five yellow, orange, or red petals. The fruit is a pod 6–12 cm long.
Food
All seeds of Caesalpinia are poisonous. However, the seeds of some species are edible before they reach maturity (e.g. immature seeds of C. pulcherrima) or after treatment (e.g. C. bonduc after roasting).[6]
Medicinal
Maroon medicine men in Suriname have long known some of the medicinal uses for C. pulcherrima, which is known as ayoowiri. Four grams from the root are also said to induce abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy.
Ornamental
C. pulcherrima is the most widely cultivated species in the genus Caesalpinia. It is a striking ornamental plant, widely grown in domestic and public gardens in warm climates with mild winters, and has a beautiful inflorescence in yellow, red, and orange. Its small size and the fact that it tolerates pruning well allows it to be planted in groups to form a hedgerow; it can be also used to attract hummingbirds.
In cultivation in the UK this plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.
Euphorbia tirucalli, aveloz, firestick plants, Indian tree spurge, naked lady, pencil tree
Euphorbia tirucalli (also known as aveloz, firestick plants, Indian tree spurge, naked lady, pencil tree, pencil cactus, sticks on fireor milk bush) (Sanskrit: सप्तला saptala, सातला satala,Marathi : sher-kandvel शेर-कांडवेल) is a tree that grows in semi-arid tropical climates.
It has a wide distribution in Africa, being prominently present in northeastern, central and southern Africa. It may also be native in other parts of the continent as well as some surrounding islands and the Arabian peninsula and has been introduced to many other tropical regions. Its status in India is uncertain. It grows in dry areas, and is often used to feed cattle or as hedging. It is well known in Sri Lanka where it is called Kalli in Tamil, as mentioned in the Akananuru by the Sri Lankan Tamil poet Eelattu Poothanthevanar and in Sinhalese: වැරදි නවහන්දි, ගස් නවහන්දි Weradi Navahandi or Gass Nawahandi.
Euphorbia tirucalli is a hydrocarbon plant that produces a poisonous latex which can, with little effort, be converted to the equivalent of gasoline. This led chemist Melvin Calvin to propose the exploitation of E. tirucalli for producing oil. This usage is particularly appealing because of the ability of E. tirucallito grow on land that is not suitable for most other crops. Calvin estimated that 10 to 50 barrels of oil per acre was achievable. It has also been used in the production of rubber, but this was not very successful.
Euphorbia tirucalli also has uses in traditional medicine in many cultures. It has been used for cancer, excrescence, tumors, and warts in such diverse places as Brazil, India, Indonesia[citation needed], and Malaysia. It has also been used as for asthma, cough, earache, neuralgia, rheumatism, toothache, and warts in India and Malaysia.
Euphorbia tirucalli has been promoted as an anticancer agent, but research shows that it suppresses the immune system, promotes tumor growth, and leads to the development of certain types of cancer.Euphorbia tirucallihas also been associated with Burkitt's lymphoma and is thought to be a cofactor of the disease rather than a treatment
First aid
The milky latex from E. tirucalli is extremely irritating to the skin and mucosa and is toxic. Contact with skin causes severe irritation, redness and a burning sensation; contact with the eyes may cause severe pain, and in some cases temporary blindness for several days. Symptoms may worsen over 12 hours.
For eye exposures, flush eyes with fresh, cool water for at least 15 minutes and repeat after a few minutes. Seek medical attention if there is no relief. Over-the-counter anti-histamines may provide relief for some people.
If swallowed, it may cause burning to the mouth, lips, and tongue. Deaths have been recorded from swallowing the latex, and anyone swallowing some should seek medical attention.
It has a wide distribution in Africa, being prominently present in northeastern, central and southern Africa. It may also be native in other parts of the continent as well as some surrounding islands and the Arabian peninsula and has been introduced to many other tropical regions. Its status in India is uncertain. It grows in dry areas, and is often used to feed cattle or as hedging. It is well known in Sri Lanka where it is called Kalli in Tamil, as mentioned in the Akananuru by the Sri Lankan Tamil poet Eelattu Poothanthevanar and in Sinhalese: වැරදි නවහන්දි, ගස් නවහන්දි Weradi Navahandi or Gass Nawahandi.
Euphorbia tirucalli is a hydrocarbon plant that produces a poisonous latex which can, with little effort, be converted to the equivalent of gasoline. This led chemist Melvin Calvin to propose the exploitation of E. tirucalli for producing oil. This usage is particularly appealing because of the ability of E. tirucallito grow on land that is not suitable for most other crops. Calvin estimated that 10 to 50 barrels of oil per acre was achievable. It has also been used in the production of rubber, but this was not very successful.
Euphorbia tirucalli also has uses in traditional medicine in many cultures. It has been used for cancer, excrescence, tumors, and warts in such diverse places as Brazil, India, Indonesia[citation needed], and Malaysia. It has also been used as for asthma, cough, earache, neuralgia, rheumatism, toothache, and warts in India and Malaysia.
Euphorbia tirucalli has been promoted as an anticancer agent, but research shows that it suppresses the immune system, promotes tumor growth, and leads to the development of certain types of cancer.Euphorbia tirucallihas also been associated with Burkitt's lymphoma and is thought to be a cofactor of the disease rather than a treatment
First aid
The milky latex from E. tirucalli is extremely irritating to the skin and mucosa and is toxic. Contact with skin causes severe irritation, redness and a burning sensation; contact with the eyes may cause severe pain, and in some cases temporary blindness for several days. Symptoms may worsen over 12 hours.
For eye exposures, flush eyes with fresh, cool water for at least 15 minutes and repeat after a few minutes. Seek medical attention if there is no relief. Over-the-counter anti-histamines may provide relief for some people.
If swallowed, it may cause burning to the mouth, lips, and tongue. Deaths have been recorded from swallowing the latex, and anyone swallowing some should seek medical attention.
Adiantum capillus-veneris, the Southern maidenhair fern, black maidenhair fern, maidenhair fern
Adiantum capillus-veneris, the Southern maidenhair fern, black maidenhair fern, maidenhair fern,and venus hair fern, is a species of ferns in the genus Adiantum and the family Pteridaceae with a subcosmopolitan worldwide distribution. It is cultivated as a popular garden fern and houseplant.
Adiantum capillus-veneris is native to the southern half of the United States from California to the Atlantic coast, through Mexico and Central America, to South America. It is also native to Eurasia, the Levant in Western Asia, and Australasia.There are two disjunct occurrences in the northern part of North America: at Cascade Springs in the Black Hills of South Dakota and Fairmont Hot Springs, British Columbia. In both instances, the warm microclimate created by hot mineral springs permits the growth of the plant far north of its normal range. It is similar in Zvonce spa resort (Звоначка Бања, Zvonačka Banja), near Pirot in Serbia, where hot mineral springs provide adequate heat and humidity for the survival of this species.
It is found in temperate climates from warm-temperate to tropical, where the moisture content is high but not saturating, in the moist, well-drained sand, loam or limestone of many habitats, including rainforests, shrub and woodlands, broadleaf and coniferous forests, and desert cliff seeps, and springs. It often may be seen growing on moist, sheltered and shaded sandstone or limestoneformations, generally south-facing in the southern hemisphere, north-facing in the north, or in gorges. It occurs throughout Africa in moist places by streams. On moist sandstone cliffs it grows in full or partial shade, even when unprotected.
Description
Adiantum capillus-veneris grows from 6 to 12 in (15 to 30 cm) in height; its fronds arising in clusters from creeping rhizomes 8 to 27.5 in (20 to 70 cm) tall, with very delicate, light green fronds much subdivided into pinnae 0.2 to 0.4 in (5 to 10 mm) long and broad; the frond rachis is black and wiry.[
Cultivation
Adiantum capillus-veneris is cultivated and widely available around the world for planting in natural landscape native plants and traditional shade gardens, for outdoor container gardens, and commonly as an indoor houseplant.
Conservation
The fern is listed as an endangered species in North Carolina (as southern maidenhair-fern) and threatened species in Kentucky (as venus hair fern), due to loss of Appalachian habitat.
Uses
This plant is used medicinally by Native Americans. The Mahuna people use the plant internally for rheumatism and the Navajo people of Kayenta, AZ use an infusion of the plant as a lotion for bumblebee and centipede stings. The Navajo people also smoke it or take it internally to treat mental illness.
In the traditional medicine of Iran, frond infusion of Adiantum capillus-veneris is used for jaundice therapy.
Adiantum capillus-veneris is native to the southern half of the United States from California to the Atlantic coast, through Mexico and Central America, to South America. It is also native to Eurasia, the Levant in Western Asia, and Australasia.There are two disjunct occurrences in the northern part of North America: at Cascade Springs in the Black Hills of South Dakota and Fairmont Hot Springs, British Columbia. In both instances, the warm microclimate created by hot mineral springs permits the growth of the plant far north of its normal range. It is similar in Zvonce spa resort (Звоначка Бања, Zvonačka Banja), near Pirot in Serbia, where hot mineral springs provide adequate heat and humidity for the survival of this species.
It is found in temperate climates from warm-temperate to tropical, where the moisture content is high but not saturating, in the moist, well-drained sand, loam or limestone of many habitats, including rainforests, shrub and woodlands, broadleaf and coniferous forests, and desert cliff seeps, and springs. It often may be seen growing on moist, sheltered and shaded sandstone or limestoneformations, generally south-facing in the southern hemisphere, north-facing in the north, or in gorges. It occurs throughout Africa in moist places by streams. On moist sandstone cliffs it grows in full or partial shade, even when unprotected.
Description
Adiantum capillus-veneris grows from 6 to 12 in (15 to 30 cm) in height; its fronds arising in clusters from creeping rhizomes 8 to 27.5 in (20 to 70 cm) tall, with very delicate, light green fronds much subdivided into pinnae 0.2 to 0.4 in (5 to 10 mm) long and broad; the frond rachis is black and wiry.[
Cultivation
Adiantum capillus-veneris is cultivated and widely available around the world for planting in natural landscape native plants and traditional shade gardens, for outdoor container gardens, and commonly as an indoor houseplant.
Conservation
The fern is listed as an endangered species in North Carolina (as southern maidenhair-fern) and threatened species in Kentucky (as venus hair fern), due to loss of Appalachian habitat.
Uses
This plant is used medicinally by Native Americans. The Mahuna people use the plant internally for rheumatism and the Navajo people of Kayenta, AZ use an infusion of the plant as a lotion for bumblebee and centipede stings. The Navajo people also smoke it or take it internally to treat mental illness.
In the traditional medicine of Iran, frond infusion of Adiantum capillus-veneris is used for jaundice therapy.
Pteris vittata, Chinese brake, Chinese ladder brake shrubs
Pteris vittata, commonly known variously as the Chinese brake, Chinese ladder brake,or simply ladder brake, is a fern species in the Pteridoideae subfamily of the Pteridaceae. It is indigenous to Asia, southern Europe, tropical Africa and Australia. The type specimen was collected in China by Pehr Osbeck.
Pteris vittata is native and widespread in the paleotropics: found from the east, to the south tropical, and southern Africa (in Angola; Kenya; Lesotho; Malawi; Mozambique; Namibia; Tanzania (including the Zanzibar Archipelago); Cape Province, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, and Transvaal in South Africa; Swaziland; Uganda; Zambia; and Zimbabwe); temperate and tropical Asia (in the provincesof Anhui, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Xizang, and Yunnan in China; the prefectures of Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku, and the Ryukyu Islands of Japan; and Thailand); and Australia, in the states of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, and Western Australia.
Pteris vittata is often associated with limestone habitats. It may be seen growing on concrete structures and cracks, in buildings in the central business district and suburbs of Sydney, Australia. It is an introduced species in California, Texas, and the Southeastern United States.
A remnant population exists in the Italian peninsula, in Sicily, Calabria and Campania.
Uses
Although it grows readily in the wild, Pteris vittata is sometimes cultivated. It is grown in gardens for its attractive appearance, or used in pollution control schemes: it is known to be a hyperaccumulator plant of arsenic used in phytoremediation.
Pteris vittata is native and widespread in the paleotropics: found from the east, to the south tropical, and southern Africa (in Angola; Kenya; Lesotho; Malawi; Mozambique; Namibia; Tanzania (including the Zanzibar Archipelago); Cape Province, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, and Transvaal in South Africa; Swaziland; Uganda; Zambia; and Zimbabwe); temperate and tropical Asia (in the provincesof Anhui, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Xizang, and Yunnan in China; the prefectures of Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku, and the Ryukyu Islands of Japan; and Thailand); and Australia, in the states of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, and Western Australia.
Pteris vittata is often associated with limestone habitats. It may be seen growing on concrete structures and cracks, in buildings in the central business district and suburbs of Sydney, Australia. It is an introduced species in California, Texas, and the Southeastern United States.
A remnant population exists in the Italian peninsula, in Sicily, Calabria and Campania.
Uses
Although it grows readily in the wild, Pteris vittata is sometimes cultivated. It is grown in gardens for its attractive appearance, or used in pollution control schemes: it is known to be a hyperaccumulator plant of arsenic used in phytoremediation.
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