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{{short description|Species of fern in the family Psilotaceae}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Psilotum.jpg
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn | author1 = Bárrios, S. | author2 = Copeland, A. | name-list-style = amp | title = ''Psilotum nudum'' | page = e.T18821051A192161425 | year = 2021 | access-date = 19 May 2022}}</ref>
| genus = Psilotum
| species = nudum
| authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]) [[Palisot de Beauvois|P.Beauv.]]<ref name=WorldFerns>{{BioRef |worldferns |genus=Psilotum |species=nudum |access-date=19 May 2022}}</ref>
| synonyms =
{{Species list
| Bernhardia antillarum | K.Mull.
| Bernhardia capensis | K.Mull.
| Bernhardia deppeana | K.Mull.
| Bernhardia dichotoma | Willd. ex Bernh.
| Bernhardia novae-hollandiae | Müll.Berol.
| Bernhardia oahuensis | K.Mull.
| Hoffmannia aphylla | Willd.
| Lycopodium nudum | L.
| Psilotum domingense | Gand.
| Psilotum flabellatum | Gand.
| Psilotum floridanum | Michx.
| Psilotum heterocarpum | Colenso
| Psilotum novae-zelandiae | Gand.
| Psilotum triquetrum | Sw.
}}
| synonyms_ref = <ref name=WorldFerns/>
}}

'''''Psilotum nudum''''', the '''whisk fern''',<ref name=WorldFerns/> is a [[fern]]like plant. Like the other species in the order [[Psilotales]], it lacks roots.<ref name="Friedman-et-al-2004" />

Its name, ''Psilotum nudum'', means "bare naked" in Latin, because it lacks (or seems to lack) most of the organs of typical vascular plants, as a result of evolutionary reduction. (Note that leaves are not actually absent, but greatly reduced.)<ref name="Friedman-et-al-2004">{{cite journal | last1=Friedman | first1=William E. | last2=Moore | first2=Richard C. | last3=Purugganan | first3=Michael D. | title=The evolution of plant development | journal=[[American Journal of Botany]] | publisher=[[Botanical Society of America]] ([[Wiley (publisher)|Wiley]]) | volume=91 | issue=10 | year=2004 | issn=0002-9122 | doi=10.3732/ajb.91.10.1726 | pages=1726–1741| pmid=21652320 | doi-access=free }}</ref>

==Development==
The embryo has only two parts, a distal [[plant shoot|shoot apex]] and a proximal [[sporophyte|foot]]. The shoot apex produces a [[rhizome]] without roots, possibly because ''P. nudum'' and relatives are often [[epiphyte]]s. The rhizome in turn will eventually produce greatly reduced leaves instead of roots. These processes are heavily influenced by [[auxin]] concentrations.<ref name="Cooke-et-al-2004">{{cite book | last1=Cooke | first1=Todd J | last2=Poli | first2=DorothyBelle | last3=Cohen | first3=Jerry D | title=The Evolution of Plant Physiology | chapter=Did auxin play a crucial role in the evolution of novel body plans during the Late Silurian-Early Devonian radiation of land plants? | publisher=[[Elsevier]] | year=2003 | isbn=978-0-12-339552-8 | doi=10.1016/b978-012339552-8/50006-8 | pages=85–107}}</ref>

==Distribution==
''P. nudum'' is found in tropical Africa, Central America, tropical and subtropical North America, South America,<ref name="fna">{{cite web | url = http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=200002872 | work = [[Flora of North America]] | title = ''Psilotum nudum''}}</ref> tropical Asia, Australia, Hawaii, southern Japan, Lord Howe Island, New Zealand, with a few isolated populations in SW Europe ("Los Alcornocales", [[Spain]], [[Cádiz]] province).<ref name="Libro Rojo">{{cite web | url = http://www.mma.es/portal/secciones/biodiversidad/inventarios/inb/flora_vascular/pdf/1066.pdf | work = Atlas y Libro Rojo de la Flora Vascular Amenazada de España | title = ''Psilotum nudum'' | language=Spanish}}</ref><ref name="Fairley 1989">{{cite book |last1=Fairley |first1=Alan |last2=Moore |first2=Philip |title=Native plants of the Sydney District |edition=1st |year=1989 |publisher=Kangaroo Press |isbn=0-86417-261-3 |page=27}}</ref> Although most [[weed]]s are [[flowering plant]]s, ''P. nudum'' is an unusual example of a weed because it is both nonflowering and rootless.<ref name="Baker-1974">{{cite journal | last=Baker | first=Herbert G | title=The Evolution of Weeds | journal=[[Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics]] | publisher=[[Annual Reviews (publisher)|Annual Reviews]] | volume=5 | issue=1 | year=1974 | issn=0066-4162 | doi=10.1146/annurev.es.05.110174.000245 | pages=1–24}}</ref>

In tropical areas, this plant is often [[epiphytic]], whilst in more temperate areas, such as south-eastern Australia, it is usually found growing in rock crevices.<ref name="Fairley 1989"/> Thousands of people per day walk by these plants at the [[Sydney Opera House]] forecourt.<ref>Les Robinson - Field Guide to the Native Plants of Sydney, {{ISBN|978-0-7318-1211-0}} page 303</ref>

==Cultivation and uses==
The plant, which grows wild in southern Japan, was once much cultivated in Japanese gardens as an ornamental plant. Slightly over 100 garden varieties were given fantastic names.<ref name=Rouffa1971>Rouffa, A. (1971) "An Appendageless Psilotum. Introduction to Aerial Shoot Morphology." American Fern Society 61(2), 75-86</ref> <ref> Gardener's Chronicle (August 13, 1887 ) pp. 190-191. 120 varieties.</ref> Called ''matsubaran'' ("pine-needle orchid") in Japanese, it was one of the noble plants in the [[Edo period]] (1603–1867).

[[File:Psilotum nudum Sydney Opera House.JPG|thumb|''Psilotum nudum'' at the [[Sydney Opera House]], [[Australia]]]]
The species is naturally found on all the main Hawaiian Islands. Known locally as Moa because of its chicken feet like stems, the Hawaiians collected large quantities of the spores and used them like talcum powder,<ref name="Carr">{{cite web |url= http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/Faculty/Carr/psilot.htm |title= Psilotaceae |author= Carr, G. |publisher= University of Hawai`i at Manoa |accessdate=1 April 2010}}</ref> under the loincloth to prevent chafing. The spores were also used medicinally as a purge. Children would play a game called 'moa nahele' or cockfighting with the branch stems. Twigs of the Moa were interlocked and the players pulled on the ends. The loser's twig broke and the winner crowed like a rooster.<ref>{{cite book |title= Hawaiian-English Dictionary |author1= Mary Kawena Pukui |author2=Samuel Elbert |year= 1986 |publisher= University of Hawai‘i Press |page= 248}}</ref> The species is still often used in making traditional Hawaiian leis.

Its common name, whisk fern, alludes to its use in the past as a small broom, made by tying a handful of its branches together.<ref name="Ombrello">{{cite web |url= http://faculty.ucc.edu/biology-ombrello/POW/Psilotum.htm |title= Psilotum |author= Ombrello, T. |publisher= Union County College Biology Department |accessdate= 1 April 2010 |url-status= dead |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20101015060448/http://faculty.ucc.edu/biology-ombrello/pow/Psilotum.htm |archivedate= 15 October 2010 }}</ref> It is sometimes found in cultivation (either accidentally, as a weed in greenhouses, or deliberately, in the form of a number of cultivars).<ref name="fna"/>

It may prove to be a good source of antimicrobial chemicals.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Dolly Rani |author2=P. B. Khare |author3=P. K. Dantu |year=2010 |title=''In vitro'' antibacterial and antifungal properties of aqueous and non-aqueous frond extracts of ''Psilotum nudum'', ''Nephrolepis biserrata'' and ''Nephrolepis cordifolia'' |journal=[[Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences]] |volume=72 |issue=6 |pages=818–822 |doi=10.4103/0250-474X.84606 |pmc=3178992 |pmid=21969763 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|Psilotum nudum|''Psilotum nudum''}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q1197925}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Psilotaceae]]
[[Category:Ferns of Africa]]
[[Category:Ferns of Asia]]
[[Category:Ferns of the Americas]]
[[Category:Ferns of Europe]]
[[Category:Ferns of Oceania]]
[[Category:Flora of tropical Asia]]
[[Category:Plants described in 1753]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]
[[Category:Garden plants]]
[[Category:Epiphytes]]

Psilotum nudum - Revision history

Ajay Kumar: Created a new article