Mariana maiden fern (Macrothelypteris torresiana) is an invasive recently detected in at Mammoth Cave National Park by Cumberland Piedmont Inventory and Monitoring Network (CUPN) staff. This species originates in tropical Asia and Africa and its persistence concerns park resource managers.
To report invasive species observations in CUPN parks (Parks & Partners (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)www.inaturalist.org/projects/nps...
The purpose of this project is to document the occurrence of non-native invasive plant and animal species within the boundaries of the 14 NPS Cumberland Piedmont Inventory and Monitoring Network Parks...
You can help park managers document new observations of invasives using iNaturalist - a citizen science reporting and mapping application. The CUPN uses it to aid in detecting new/significant invasive populations. Posted observations alert park managers so they manage species before they spread.
It is recognizable by its large, light green, triangular-shaped fronds which arch upwards which droop towards the ground at the tips. It is bipinnate and has waxy looking stipes and round sori. It reproduces and spreads by dispersing spores, but also vegetatively through stolons and rhizomes.
