alpine silverwort vs Clinging Snakefern

Anthelia julacea compared with Microgramma heterophylla

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	alpine silverwort	Clinging Snakefern
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Marchantiophyta (liverwort)	Tracheophyta
Class	Jungermanniopsida (Jungermanniopsida)	Polypodiopsida (Polypodiopsida)
Order	Jungermanniales (Jungermanniales)	Polypodiales (Polypodiales)
Family	Antheliaceae	Polypodiaceae
Genus	Anthelia	Microgramma
Species	Anthelia julacea	Microgramma heterophylla

Evolutionary Relationship

alpine silverwort and Clinging Snakefern share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Plantae. (Plants)

Conservation Status

alpine silverwort

LC — Least Concern

Clinging Snakefern

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	alpine silverwort	Clinging Snakefern
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

alpine silverwort

Habitat

Native to Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Norway and Sweden.

Clinging Snakefern

Habitat

Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies.

Range

Found in Cuba.

alpine silverwort

The Alpine silverwort (Anthelia julacea) is a species in the genus Anthelia. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Native to Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region. Distributed across Norway and Sweden.

Clinging Snakefern

Clinging Snakefern, Microgramma species, is a genus of small epiphytic ferns in the family Polypodiaceae found in tropical and subtropical forests of the Americas, from Florida and the Caribbean through Central America to South America. The ferns cling tightly to tree bark and rock surfaces using creeping rhizomes with specialized clinging scales, making them true epiphytes that depend entirely on the host surface for physical support while deriving all their water and nutrients from rainfall and atmospheric deposition. The common name 'snakefern' refers to the slender, creeping rhizomes that resemble snakes threading through moss and bark. The fronds are small and simple, either entirely fertile bearing sori on their undersurface or sterile with entire margins. Clinging snakeferns contribute to the high epiphyte diversity of tropical forest canopies and are important components of the moss-and-lichen matrix on tree trunks in humid forests. They are sensitive to moisture availability and desiccation and are among the first species to decline when humid forest is cleared or fragmented. Several Microgramma species are used as ornamental plants in warm-climate gardens for their ability to creep over rocks and tree stumps. Conservation status varies by species within the genus.