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Taxodium distichum

= Evaluating content[edit] =


 * Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you? Some seeds are produced every year. Can I get an estimate or something? Small things stood out to me that I felt needed more attention to.
 * Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added? Information on when the supposed tallest tree near Williamsburg, Virginia or the stoutest tree or any of the other measurements on when they were recorded could be added.
 * What else could be improved? General information for the small facts like some seeds are produced every year. Spelling mistakes for example Thrifty sprouts are... Then what kind of squirrels are displaying the seeds.

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 * Is the article neutral? Are there any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position? The article is pretty neutral. there's no persuading just telling information.
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= Evaluating sources[edit] =


 * Check a few citations. Do the links work? Does the source support the claims in the article? Yes the links work. They support the claims in the article.
 * Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference? Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted? The facts are properly cited from what I can tell you. Other people who have submitted information. Yes they are neutral sources.

= Checking the talk page[edit] = Now take a look at how others are talking about this article on the talk page.


 * What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic? Range, largest forest vs. largest stand, and baldcypress vs. bald cypress.
 * How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects? Rated C and is part of two wiki projects. WikiProject Plants and WikiProject Alabama
 * How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class? These people are less plant blind than we are.

Sceptridium dissectum (Spreng.) Lyon

Contents

·        Description

·        Taxonomy

·        Distribution and Habitat

·        Cultivation

·        Uses

Description:

               Sceptridium dissectum (Spreng.) Lyon has two separate fronds. The fertile frond looks superficially like a stalk of grapes while the other sterile frond is leafy. Sceptridium dissectum leaves are a light green and remains green through most of the year. During the summer the leaves become deciduous while the leaves stay green in the winter. The grape like sporangia range from green to yellow. The petiole or stalk of the plant is green from top to bottom and glabrous as is the sterile frond. Sceptridium dissectum is a non-flowering plant. The sterile frond or leaf is mostly bipinnate.

At first glance most think there are two separate fronds. The fertile stalk is joined to the stalk of sterile leaf blade near the rhizome. The sporangia resemble grapes which is why these types of ferns are known as grape ferns. The leaves on a sterile frond have lacy edges. Sceptridium dissectum stands six to fifteen inches tall. Sceptridium dissectum can stay a greenish bronze color through winter.

Taxonomy:

Sceptridium dissectum can be miss identified as Botrypus virginianus (L.) Sw. or commonly known rattlesnake fern. Botrypus virginianus sporangia looks like the tail of a rattlesnake like a rattle. Sceptridium dissectum is also a close relative to the Southern Grapefern or Botrychium biternatum. These ferns are both part of the Ophioglossales order and Ophioglossaceae, known as the Adder’s tongue family. There are three ways to help distinguish the cut-leaf grape fern and the rattlesnake fern. The first is by size, the rattle snake fern can be found up to two feet tall compared to the cut-leaf fern that can be found up to a foot tall. Second the petiole or stalk for a cut-leaf fern is light green while the rattlesnake fern’s petiole is pink at the base.

Sceptridium dissectum (Spreng.) Lyon was known as Botrychium dissectum Spreng. Sceptridium dissectum became the name of the Cutleaf Grapefern in 1905. Botrychium dissectum held the name from 1804 until 1905. Sceptridium dissectum also goes by a few other names such as ''Botrychium dissectum Spreng. var. obliquum (Muhl. ex Willd.) Clute, Botrychium dissectum Spreng. var. oblongifolium (Graves) Broun, Botrychium obliquum Muhl. ex Willd., Botrychium obliquum Muhl. ex Willd. var. elongatum Gilbert & Haberer,  Osmunda obliqua (Muhl.) Poir., Botrychium ternatum var. obliquum'' (Muhl.) D.C. Eaton.

Distribution and habitat:

Sceptridium dissectum ranges from Minnesota, south to the north east of Texas then across the east coast. The habitat of the Cutleaf Grapefern is woodlands, sandy grasslands, the edge of swamps or ravines. One of the favorited habitat to find these plants in is woodlands of deciduous forests where the trees can give sunlight when the Cutleaf Grapefern is leafed out in the winter allowing photosynthesis to occur.

Cultivation

Sceptridium dissectum is a homosporous fern which means it only produces one kind of spore. Sceptridium dissectum is also perennial. The Cutleaf Grapefern typically grows in partial sunlight to medium shade. For soil conditions the Cutleaf Grapefern grows in soil containing loam or sandy loam. The Cutleaf Grapefern also grows in moist to dry-mesic conditions. The Cutleaf Grapefern takes a long time to develop from its spores the fern is dependent on mycorrhizal fungi for survival.

The spores have to be in darkness for 3-4 weeks before any spore germination can occurs. The longer the spores remain in darkness the greater percentage of germination may occur Spore germination and early gametophyte growth were also directly effected by oxidation level of the supplied nitrogen source. The fern remains dependent on the fungi even after sterile and fertile leaves emerge. Unlike some members of the Ophioglossacae, Sceptridum Dissectum does not always grows spores. Sceptridum dissectum only creates one leaf per year .The Cutleaf Grapefern is rumored to live for about 10 to 45 years. Because the Cutleaf Grapefern is so hard to cultivate it is rarely used for horticultural services. The plant is generally common except in New York where it is listed as endangered.

Uses

Wild Turkey and Ruffed Grouse feed on the leaves as well as the White-Tailed Deer.