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Marsilea villosa Vernal Pool Group | NatureServe Biotics 2019
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Name: Marsilea villosa Vernal Pool Group Reference: NatureServe Biotics 2019 Description: This rare, intermittently wet fern wetland is now restricted to O`ahu and Moloka`i, and is characterized by the dominance of the federally endangered endemic fern <i>Marsilea villosa</i>. On the seasonal floodplain in Lualualei Valley, O`ahu, scattered depressions support <i>Marsilea</i> mats under scattered <i>Prosopis pallida</i> and among <i>Sida fallax</i>. At `Ihi`ihilauâkea Crater, O`ahu, the crater floor is thickly covered with <i>Marsilea</i> when seasonal rains saturate the soil, sometimes submerging the habitat. During dry periods the fern becomes a dormant rhizomatous mat, and the area appears to be a weedy dryland of grasses and forbs, including <i>Amaranthus spinosus, Chloris barbata, Cynodon dactylon, Setaria verticillata, Merremia aegyptia</i>, and <i>Xanthium strumarium</i>. Sexual reproduction of <i>Marsilea</i> may occur as infrequently as once every ten or more years, due to the infrequency of sufficiently heavy rains in lowland areas. This rare, intermittently wet fern wetland develops in lowland vernal pools and areas that get flooded periodically. It occurs in shallow depressions in clay soil, cinder craters, or lithified sand dunes overlain with alluvial clay common in dry areas of most islands where winter rains create seasonal pools at elevations between 424 and 1032 m (1391-3385 feet). On Moloka`i, it occurs in rocky areas that never hold standing water but get flushed out annually or less often. Historic populations on O`ahu were destroyed by drainage of ponding areas, habitat degradation, competition from exotic plants, off-road vehicle use, and development.  Accession Code: urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:40155-{9BE8F79A-7A0C-48CC-A5C4-18A8128AC7BA} Plot-observations of this Community Concept: 0
	Party Perspective according to: NatureServe (organization) Perspective from: 27-May-2016 to: ongoing
	status: accepted Community's Parent: Polynesian Freshwater Marsh Macrogroup This Community's Level: Group This Community's Children: [none]		Names:   UID: ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.860729 NatureServe Explorer   Code: G429   Scientific: Marsilea villosa Vernal Pool Group