Castor vs Clinging Snakefern

Ricinus communis compared with Microgramma heterophylla

Key Differences

• Castor is Not Evaluated while Clinging Snakefern is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Castor	Clinging Snakefern
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Tracheophyta
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Polypodiopsida (Polypodiopsida)
Order	Malpighiales (Malpighiales)	Polypodiales (Polypodiales)
Family	Euphorbiaceae	Polypodiaceae
Genus	Ricinus	Microgramma
Species	Ricinus communis	Microgramma heterophylla

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

Castor

NE — Not Evaluated

Clinging Snakefern

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Castor	Clinging Snakefern
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Castor

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, flooded grasslands and savannas, and montane grasslands and shrublands, among 7 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (33 countries), Asia (26 countries), Europe (23 countries), North America (15 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (14 countries), and South America (12 countries).

Clinging Snakefern

Habitat

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

Range

Found in Cuba.

Castor

The Castor (Ricinus communis) is a species in the genus Ricinus. Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, flooded grasslands and savannas, and montane grasslands and shrublands, among 7 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and hi

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.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇨🇺 Cuba