Ceratopteris gaudichaudii var. vulgaris(water sprite, "Himemizuwarabi")
Japanese name: ヒメミズワラビ（姫水蕨） Scientific name:Ceratopteris gaudichaudii var. vulgaris
[Overview]
An annual fern found in rice paddies, ponds and marshes.
It roots in the mud and has a short rhizome.
The rhizome and leaf stalks bear small brown scales.
Plant height and form vary markedly with the growing environment and the season.
The leaves are of two kinds, sterile leaves and spore-bearing leaves.
The sterile leaves are deeply pinnately lobed 1–4 times, with broad, soft lobes, and sometimes bear asexual buds at the branching points of the pinnae.
The leaf veins are net-like.
The spore-bearing leaves are taller than the sterile leaves and deeply pinnately lobed 1–3 times, with slender lobes whose margins roll under to cover the sporangia clusters, making them rod-shaped.
The sporangia clusters are linear and extend long the veins on the underside of the spore-bearing leaves.
It can be distinguished from Mizu-warabi by its leaf stalks being shorter than the leaf blades.
It is somewhat smaller than Mizu-warabi, but both vary greatly, and it is said to be difficult to judge by size alone.
