Nephrolepis cordifolia

Smith, Alan R. & Kessler, Michael, 2018, Prodromus of a fern flora for Bolivia. XXXVII. Nephrolepidaceae, Phytotaxa 334 (2), pp. 135-140 : 137

Nephrolepis cordifolia (L.) C.Presl, Tent. Pterid. 79. 1836.

Range: — U.S.A. (Florida), Antilles; southern Mexico to Panama; Peru, Bolivia (CO, SC), Brazil; Old World tropics. Often attributed a much wider range in South America by virtue of confusion with N. pendula ; whether this species is native or not in some areas (e.g., in Mexico and Mesoamerica) is in doubt ( Mickel & Smith 2004).

Ecology: —Cultivated in cities and gardens, often escaping; 400–3300 m.

Notes: — Pichi Sermolli (1968) discussed the nomenclature and uncertain typification of this species. This species, and many cultivars of it, are widely naturalized in the tropics and subtropics (e.g., in New Zealand: Large & Farrington, 2016). It is registered in the Global Invasive Species Database (GISD 2016) and is included within many regional pest management plans. In the analysis by Yahaya et al. (2016), populations of N. cordifolia show a complex, as yet unresolved relationship with N. exaltata and its presumed cv. “Bostoniensis).