Pteris vittata L.
Origin and diffusion
Origin: tropical areas
Distribution: sub-cosmopolitan
Invasive potential: medium
Source: www.plants.usda.gov
Photo: G. Nicolella
Photos: L. Passatore
Introduction
P. vittata is a perennial fern, native to tropical regions and naturalized throughout much of the world It
has pinnate fronds tufted or closely spaced, herbaceous to slightly coriaceous. It is a pioneer species,
typically growing in humid environments like most of the ferns, it colonizes walls, cliffs and rocks,
usually in shade. This species has been one of the most investigated plant for phytotechnologies
purposes, as it has been found to be able to take up prodigious amounts of arsenic from soil and
sequester it mostly in the above-ground biomass.
Common names: Chinese brake (English), Pteride a foglie lunghe (Italian)
Description
Life-form and periodicity: perennial, evergreen
Height: 0,3-0,5 m
Roots habit: strong creeping rhizome, with very abundant and thin rhizoids (which serve no other
function than attachment). Maximum root-system depth: 30 cm.
Culm/Stem/Trunk: Crown: -
Fam. Poaceae
Description
Leaf: tufted fronds, arching, leathery, pinnate, with an elliptic shape.
Rate of transpiration: Reproductive structure: fertile fronds bear sporangia (spore producing structures) on the underside
of fronds. A group of sporangia is referred to as a sorus. Sori are disposed in a sub-marginal line
along both sides of the pinna, from near the base to near the tip.
Propagative structure: spores
Development
Sexual propagation: The drying of the sporangia catapults the mature spores from the fern in order
to disperse spores outside the immediate neighborhood of the parent, thus aiding in wide-range
dispersal. Spores of brake fern because of their small size compared to most ferns, are capable of
reaching high altitudes through atmospheric winds and attain extreme long distance dispersal.
Asexual propagation: it takes place by progressive death and decay of older portions of the
rhizome. When the decay reaches the point of branching, the main axis and branch are separated
and grow as individual plants.
Growth rate: fast
Habitat characteristics
Light and water requirement: it prefers moist soils and shadow but tolerates dry conditions and
bright sunlight.
Soil requirements: it can grow on almost any calcareous substrate, alkaline pH, such as sites
contaminated with arsenic.
Tolerance/sensitivity: it is well adapted to poor soil, but it can’t grow in lack of water or in clayey
substrates. It can afford moderate soil salinity.
Phytotechnologies applications
Pteris vittata naturally inhabited sites contaminated with arsenic, it has been reported that this
species can take up prodigious amounts of this chemical element from soil and sequester it mostly
in the above-ground biomass, reaching in his tissues over 40 times the concentration of the
substrate (Ma et al., 2001). In addition to being an arsenic hyperaccumulator, this species is very
suitable to be used for phytoremediation purposes tanks to its rapid growth, to its ease of
propagation and to its evergreen and perennial life-form. This species can act not only on soil or
sediment but also on As polluted waters, being easily cultivable in hydroponics.
Wang et al. (2002) reported that increasing phosphate supply in the substrate, the As uptake in the
fern tissues decreased markedly, it is therefore advisable to limit the presence of phosphate in
phytoremediation applications with this plant.
Experimental studies
Reference
Contaminants of concern
S. Tu, L. Q. Ma, A. O. Fayiga, E. J. Zillioux, 2004.
Phytoremediation of Arsenic-Contaminated
groundwater by the Arsenic Hyperaccumulating
Fern Pteris vittata L.. International Journal of
Phytoremediation, 6(1):35–47.
Arsenic
Mechanism involved in
phytoremediation:
Phytostabilisation/rhizodegradation/phyt
oaccumulation/phytodegradation/phytov
olatilization/ hydraulic control/ tolerant
Laboratory/field experiment
Types of microorganisms
associated with the plant
Requirements for
phytoremediation
(specific nutrients, addition of oxygen)
Length of experiment
Age of plant at 1st exposure
(seed, post-germination, mature)
Initial contaminant concentration
of the substrate
Phytoaccumulation
Laboratory experiment (hydroponics)
Not reported in the publication
A plastic tank filled with granular gravel may be
feasible to remove arsenic from groundwater in a
large-scale operation. Phosphorus should be
excluded or reduced since it competes with plant
arsenic uptake.
3 days
3-month old fern plants
Polluted groundwater had concentrations of total As
of 46 μg/l and As (III) of 1.6 μg /l.
Phytotechnologies applications
Substrate characteristics
Experiment n. 1 (effects of P addiction, plant
density, plant re-use and plant age)
Control: arsenic-contaminated groundwater.
Experimental solution: the same groundwater
amended with P-free or P-rich 20% Hoagland–
Arnon nutrition solution.
Solution pH for all treatments was adjusted to 7.0
normalized to the groundwater’s pH.
Experiment n. 2 (setup of groundwater remediation)
Plastic tank filled with granular gravel (crushed
stone, about 0.5–1 cm in size) and 8 L of arseniccontaminated groundwater .
Post-experiment contaminant
concentration of the substrate
Experiment n. 1 (effects of P addiction, plant density,
plant re-use and plant age)
Within 3 days the arsenic concentrations in the
groundwater decreased from 28 to 5 μg/l for a single
plant. This indicates that one plant was sufficient to
remove arsenic from 600 ml groundwater in 3 days.
The arsenic-depletion rate by a 12-month-old fern plant
was just 42–52% of that observed for 3-month-old fern
plants at the end of 3 days
The calculated uptake rates at 72 h were (nmol/g of root
f.wt h):
0.41 ± 0.064 for the control,
0.44 ± 0.065 for solution P free
and 0.092± 0.027 for solution P-rich
The results indicated that supplying P to the
groundwater significantly inhibited arsenic-uptake rates.
Experiment n. 2 (setup of groundwater remediation)
56% of arsenic in 8 L of groundwater was removed by
20 plants in 1 day, reaching 20 μg/l. After 3 days, the
arsenic concentration in the groundwater was below 10
μg/l
Post-experiment plant condition
Contaminant storage sites in the
plant and contaminant
concentrations in tissues
(root, shoot, leaves, no storage)
Not reported in the publication.
Not reported in the publication.
Phytotechnologies applications
Reference
Contaminants of concern
Mechanism involved in
phytoremediation:
Phytostabilisation/rhizodegradation/phyt
oaccumulation/phytodegradation/phytov
olatilization/ hydraulic control/ tolerant
Laboratory/field experiment
Types of microorganisms
associated with the plant
Requirements for
phytoremediation
Sugawara, K., Kobayashi, A., Endo, G., Hatayama,
M., & Inoue, C. (2014). Evaluation of the
effectiveness and salt stress of Pteris vittata in the
remediation of arsenic contamination caused by
tsunami sediments. Journal of Environmental
Science and Health, Part A, 49(14), 1631-1638.
Arsenic and salt (NaCl)
Phytoaccumulation
Laboratory experiment (germination on agar plates
and plant survival in pots)
Not reported in the publication
Soil with high sulfate concentration, , was found to be
not suitable for phytoremediation by P. vittata.
(specific nutrients, addition of oxygen)
Soil characteristics
Length of experiment
Age of plant at 1st exposure
(seed, post-germination, mature)
Initial contaminant concentration
of the substrate
Post-experiment contaminant
concentration of the substrate
Saline polluted sediments affected by tsunami
event mixed with peat moss and sand
Soil 1:
pH=7,35,
Soil 2:
pH=7.3,
35 days (incubation time of pot experiment for salt
stress assay), 166 days (incubation time of pot
experiment for phytoaccumulation assay)
Spore (in agar plates) and 3-month-old ferns (in
pots).
Soil 1:
Total As (mg/kg)=22.4,
Soluble As (μg/L)=3.39
Soil 2:
Total As (mg/kg)=9.4,
Soluble As (μg/L)=1.52
The soluble As of the soil without planting got
increased after 5 months since tsunami sediments
were brought up from anaerobic to aerobic
condition; In soil sample 2, where growth inhibition
was observed, there was no change in soluble As
in the soil. However, the soluble As in soil sample 3
had declined. Conclusion: the fern decreased water
soluble As of soil by half.
Phytotechnologies applications
Post-experiment plant condition
Contaminant storage sites in the
plant and contaminant
concentrations in tissues
(root, shoot, leaves, no storage)
Salt stress test: the addition of NaCl delayed spore
germination, the germination rate with 50 mM NaCl
declined slightly to 90% and to 20% with 100mM
NaCl; growth inhibition was observed with the ferns
immersed in 400 and 600 mM solutions.
More than 66.2 mS/m EC was detrimental to the
growth of the fern, which related with 30 days of
growth. In the sampled soil, 79.5 mS/m EC was
detrimental to the fern's survival, after at least 35
days. Thus, phytoremediation of the fern should be
applied to soil when the EC is lower than 66.2
mS/m.
Phytoaccumulation test: the fronds grown in As
polluted soil were fewer and were light-colored and
yellowish, the plant growth was slower and the
biomass was smaller.
P. vittata accumulated 264 mg/kg DW As in the
shoot