Del Tredici and Torrey (1976) theorize that this is due to Comptonia's ecological niche as an early successional species that thrives best in disturbed areas with sandy soil and full sunlight.
Thus, Comptonia fruits deposited in the soil during early succession are apparently capable of surviving a very long time, awaiting some disaster to destroy the late successional vegetation that had replaced the original sweet-fern population.
Lalonde, M. Confirmation of the infectivity of a free-living actinomycete isolated from Comptonia peregrina root nodules by immunological and ultrastructural studies.
Sweet fern(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-17)
Sweetfern fruits are eaten by flickers, white tailed deer, and it has limited use as food and cover for cottontail rabbits and ruffed grouse.
Comptonia, after Henry Compton, Bishop of London from 1632-1713, by Sir Josiah Banks, peregrina, from the Latin, "foreign"
Eflora.org reports that it has been variously used by "many Native American tribes used different parts of Comptonia peregrina variously: as an incense for ritual ceremonies; for medicinal purposes; as a stimulant or tonic; as a food seasoning; and as a poison (D. Moerman 1986)."
Comptonia is a genus of a single species, Comptonia peregrina (syn.
Comptonia is used as a food plant by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Bucculatrix paroptila, Grey Pug, Setaceous Hebrew Character and the following case-bearers of the genus Coleophora: C.
Several fossil species have been discovered, showing that the genus once had a much wider distribution throughout the Northern Hemisphere.
en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Comptonia (197 words)
Brooklyn Botantic Garden: Plant Records(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-17)
Comptonia peregrina (L.) Coult In: The Biology of Canadian weeds.
MacDonald, A. The stipules of Comptonia peregrina Canad.
Schwintzer, C. All field-collected actinorhizae examined on Comptonia peregrina and Myrica pensylvanica in Maine are spore negative Canad.
Fruit is an achene, 3 - 5 mm long, olive-brown, elliptical to conical, surrounded by bur-like bracts, 1 - 2 cm long.
Similar Species: Comptonia peregrina is a spreading shrub with fern-like, aromatic leaves and bur-like achenes that make it distinctive in the Chicago Region.
Etymology: Comptonia is named after Henry Compton (1632 - 1713), a patron of botany and bishop of London.
Branchlets red-brown to gray, pilose to villose, sometimes puberulent.
Comptonia peregrina has been reported from Tennessee (Scott County), but I have not seen any specimens.
Many Native American tribes used different parts of Comptonia peregrina variously: as an incense for ritual ceremonies; for medicinal purposes; as a stimulant or tonic; as a food seasoning; and as a poison (D. Moerman 1986).
Comptonia, after Henry Compton, Bishop of London from 1632-1713, by Sir Josiah Banks.
Many Native American tribes used different parts of Comptonia peregrina variously: as an incense for ritual ceremonies; for medicinal purposes; as a stimulant or tonic; as a food seasoning; and as a poison.
Leaves used for potpourri, and tea made from the leaves has been used to relieve symptoms of dysentery.
AllRefer - Species: Sweetfern | Comptonia peregrina > Species: [9902](Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-17)
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : Sweetfern occurs from New Brunswick south through the New England states to the northern tip of Georgia and west through northern Illinois, Indiana, and the Great Lakes states to eastern Saskatchewan and North Dakota [8].
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : Sweetfern is a host to sweetfern blister rust (Cronartium comptoniae), which reduces growth of jack pine (Pinus banksiana) [12].
Schemnitz, Sanford D. Sweetfern Comptonia peregrina (L.) Coult.
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