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Polystichum aleuticum
Polystichum aleuticum, the Aleutian holly fern or Aleutian shield fern, is an endangered species of the Polystichum genus and currently consisting of a small, vulnerable population endemic found only on Adak Island, Alaska, a remote island of the Aleutian Islands chain in the northern Pacific Ocean. This species grows on steep, windswept slopes with thin, rocky soils, often in sites exposed to salt spray and harsh subarctic weather, conditions that likely contribute to its limited distribution. In 1992, 112 specimens existed in the wild, and following its listing as endangered in 1988, a recovery plan was implemented. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service developed a recovery plan outlining habitat protection, population monitoring, and research on the species’ biology. Periodic 5-year reviews have continued to evaluate population trends and management needs.
Polystichum aleuticum is confined to a single location on Mount Reed on Adak Island in the central Aleutians. It grows tucked into moist rock crevices and beneath small overhangs on steep, northeast-facing slopes between roughly 338 and 525 meters in elevation. The species’ compact, tufted form and its small, sharply toothed pinnae are thought to suit the thin soils, strong winds, persistent moisture, and cold, unstable conditions characteristic of this subarctic mountain environment. It is unlike any other known shield fern found in North America, and originally it was questioned whether it even belonged to the genus Polystichum. However, it was found to be similar to a dwarf Polystichum species native to southwestern mountains of China and the Himalayas.
Christmas fern · Hard shield-fern · Harsh Shield Fern · Polystichum bonapartii · Braun's hollyfern · Polystichum bulbiferum · Monte Guilarte hollyfern · California swordfern · Madeira Shield-Fern · Dudley's swordfern · Polystichum fallax · Narrowleaf swordfern
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Polystichum aleuticum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
