Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR)

Angiopteris evecta
(Marattiaceae)

giant fern, king's fern, mule's-foot fern

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HEAR CLOSING      HEAR CLOSING      HEAR CLOSING

A message from Dr. David Duffy, Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit (PCSU), University of Hawaii (posted 05 November 2012):

Because of a lack of funds, HEAR (www.hear.org) may close as soon as December 15, although there may be enough funds to extend it until February 15. This will mean several things. The web site will be placed on a new server although it is not clear who will pay for the server or for transitioning the site. HEAR data will not be updated. The Pacific Ecosystems at Risk (PIER) (http://www.hear.org/pier/abtproj.htm) site will also become frozen, as will numerous books, reports and papers (http://www.hear.org/). As software evolves we will likely lose the ability to access the data. The various list servers will need new owners, otherwise moderated lists will cease to function altogether, while other lists will not be able to add or delete members. The photo collection (http://www.hear.org/starr/images/?o=plants) will remain accessible, but only through a third party site that will charge for access.

I should point out that we have already lost the original homes of both the Pacific Basin Information Node (PBIN) and Pacific Ecosystems at Risk (PIER) although they have found temporary refuges. Together with HEAR, they represent the corporate memory both here in Hawaii and across the Pacific of efforts to sustain our natural ecosystems and agriculture against problems caused by species alien to the islands. HEAR also serves as the glue that holds the community together, providing information and facilitating communication. I just hope hindsight is kind to this decision.

PLEASE SEND YOUR COMMENTS/SUGGESTIONS TO webmaster@hear.org

Let us know if you have suggestions for additional references to add to this page.

Angiopteris evecta is a large fern, with a "stem" (rhizome) up to 3' (1m) tall, and leaves up to 10' (3m+) long and 6' (2m) wide.  "...Angiopteris is apparently naturalizing in wet valleys on Oahu, a cause for concern." Additionally: "Mule's-foot fern [Angiopteris evecta] is naturalizing freely in the Lyon Arboretum and other local botanical gardens, apparently spreading by spores shed from cultivated plants into nearby areas of the Koolau range. Populations of naturalized plants have been found in the Maunawili area of windward Oahu as well as other localities, and this fern appears able to naturalie freely in wet valleys. It woon overtops the surrounding native and exotic vegetation, quickly spawning swarms of offspring downslope/downwind of the parent plant. For this reason we discourage continued planting of mule's-foot fern as an ornamental, and we encourage gardners to eradicate plants already growing in their yards." (Staples and Herbst. 2005. A tropical garden flora.) (Cited in this quote is also: Funk, E. 1987. Spontaneous spread of Angiopteris evecta (Marattiales) in the central Koolau Mountains, Oahu, Hawaii. Newslett. Hawaiian Bot. Soc. 26(3): 58-59.)  "[Angiopteris evecta] was introduced to Hawaii in 1927 at what is now the Harold L. Lyon Arboretum in Manoa Valley, Oahu." (Staples and Herbst. 2005. A tropical garden flora.

Species description or overview

Species summary & photos
This University of Hawaii web page contains images of Angiopteris evecta.

Angiopteris evecta information from PIER
Information on Angiopteris evecta as relevant to Pacific Islands is provided by the Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk project (PIER).


Taxonomy & nomenclature

GRIN nomenclature info for Angiopteris evecta
Nomenclatural information about Angiopteris evecta is provided by USDA/ARS/NGRP/GRIN.

Angiopteris evecta information from the Smithsonian's Flora of the Hawaiian Islands
Information about Angiopteris evecta--including nomenclature and synonymy, and status and distribution in Hawaii--is provided by the "Flora of the Hawaiian Islands" website of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Links from this page include descriptive information about the species, as well as worldwide distributional information and general information about the genus.

Angiopteris evecta information from ITIS
The Integrated Taxonomic Information System ITIS provides authoritative taxonomic information on Angiopteris evecta, as well as other plants, animals, fungi, and microbes of North America and the world.

IPNI nomenclature info for Angiopteris evecta
Nomenclatural information about Angiopteris evecta is provided by The International Plant Names Index (IPNI).


Pest alerts

Mule's foot fern (Angiopteris evecta) View info about Adobe Acrobat PDF format
The invasiveness of mule's foot fern is described in this "Weed of the Week" flyer from Kauai Invasive Species Committee.


Impacts

Angiopteris evecta (Marattiaceae): species information from GCW
Information on Angiopteris evecta as relevant to Pacific Islands is provided by the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Hawaii State DLNR/DOFAW cites Angiopteris evecta (Marattiaceae) as a weedy species used in horticulture
The State of Hawaii DLNR/DOFAW urges people not to use Angiopteris evecta (Marattiaceae) horticulturally.


Risk assessments

Angiopteris evecta weed risk assessment for Hawaii-Pacific
Results of a weed risk assessment for Angiopteris evecta for the Hawaii-Pacific region are presented by the Hawaii-Pacific Weed Risk Assessment team.


Images

Species summary & photos
This University of Hawaii web page contains images of Angiopteris evecta.

Images of Angiopteris evecta (Marattiaceae) (mule's-foot fern)
Links to high-resolution free images of Angiopteris evecta (Marattiaceae) (mule's-foot fern) by Forest & Kim Starr (USGS) are available here.

Angiopteris evecta information from the Smithsonian Flora of the Hawaiian Islands
Information about Angiopteris evecta in Hawaii is available from the Smithsonian Flora of the Hawaiian Islands.

Angiopteris evecta images from PIER
Images of Angiopteris evecta provided by the Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk project (PIER).


Distribution

Angiopteris evecta information from the Smithsonian Flora of the Hawaiian Islands
Information about Angiopteris evecta in Hawaii is available from the Smithsonian Flora of the Hawaiian Islands.

Angiopteris evecta information from the Smithsonian's Flora of the Hawaiian Islands
Information about Angiopteris evecta--including nomenclature and synonymy, and status and distribution in Hawaii--is provided by the "Flora of the Hawaiian Islands" website of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Links from this page include descriptive information about the species, as well as worldwide distributional information and general information about the genus.

Invasive species in the Pacific: A technical review and draft regional strategy (2000) View info about Adobe Acrobat PDF format
The status of invasive plants, vertebrates, arthropods, molluscs, and crustaceans, and options for a regional invasive species strategy for the South Pacific are presented in this series of articles from the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme, 2000.


Books

Hawaii's ferns and fern allies
Palmer, Daniel D. 2003. Hawaii's ferns and fern allies. Contribuition no. 2002-010 to the Hawaii Biological Survey. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu. 324 pp. ISBN: 0-8248-2522-5.


Full-text articles

Invasive species in the Pacific: A technical review and draft regional strategy
South Pacific Regional Environmental Programme (SPREP). Sherley, Greg (ed.) . 2000. Invasive species in the Pacific: A technical review and draft regional strategy. Apia, Samoa: South Pacific Regional Environment Programme. ISBN: 982-04-0214-X.


Other resources

Mule's foot fern (Angiopteris evecta): featured species of Kauai's Weed of the Week radio program (transcript) View info about Adobe Acrobat PDF format
The history of mule's foot fern in Hawaii is described in this supplemental document to the Kauai Invasive Species Committee's "Weed of the Week" program (2008).


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The Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR) is currently funded by grants from the Hau'oli Mau Loa Foundation and the U.S. Forest Service with support from PCSU (UH Manoa). Historically, HEAR has also received funding and/or support from the Pacific Basin Information Node (PBIN) of the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII), PIERC (USGS), the USFWS, HCSU (UH Hilo), and HALE (NPS).

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