Pteris vittata varies exceedingly in size, density of scales on the rachis, presence or absence of hairs on the abaxial costae, and overall color and aspect of the leaf. As a result, it may occasionally bear a resemblance to forms of P . × delchampsii W. H. Wagner & Nauman, the hybrid between P . bahamensis and P . vittata .
Pteris vittata, commonly known variously as the Chinese brake,[3] Chinese ladder brake,[3] or simply ladder brake,[3] is a fern species in the Pteridoideae subfamily of the Pteridaceae.[4] It is indigenous to Asia, southern Europe, tropical Africa and Australia.[3] The type specimen was collected in China by Pehr Osbeck.[1]
Pteris vittata is native and widespread in the paleotropics: found from the east, to the south tropical, and southern Africa (in Angola; Kenya; Lesotho; Malawi; Mozambique; Namibia; Tanzania (including the Zanzibar Archipelago); Cape Province, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, and Transvaal in South Africa; Eswatini; Uganda; Zambia; and Zimbabwe); temperate and tropical Asia (in the provinces of Anhui, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Xizang, and Yunnan in China; the prefectures of Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku, and the Ryukyu Islands of Japan; and Thailand); and Australia, in the states of New South Wales,[5] Queensland, Victoria, and Western Australia.[3]
Pteris vittata is often associated with limestone habitats. It may be seen growing on concrete structures and cracks, in buildings in the central business district and suburbs of Sydney, Australia.[5][6] It is an introduced species in California, Texas, and the Southeastern United States.[7]
A remnant population exists in the Italian peninsula, in Sicily, Calabria and Campania.[8]
Although it grows readily in the wild, Pteris vittata is sometimes cultivated.[3] It is grown in gardens for its attractive appearance,[3] or used in pollution control schemes:[3] it is known to be a hyperaccumulator plant of arsenic used in phytoremediation.[9]
Pteris vittata, commonly known variously as the Chinese brake, Chinese ladder brake, or simply ladder brake, is a fern species in the Pteridoideae subfamily of the Pteridaceae. It is indigenous to Asia, southern Europe, tropical Africa and Australia. The type specimen was collected in China by Pehr Osbeck.
