The Plant Press

From The Plant Press, Vol. 29, No. 1, January 2026.

Art by Alice Tangerini

Polystichum kenwoodii Lorence & W.L.Wagner

The botanical theme for the August 2025 After Hours specimen preparation event was ferns. Specimens are critically important in the illustration of new plant species, sometimes as it is the only material the artist has at hand during the drawing process. Such is the case of Polystichum kenwoodii (Dryopteridaceae), an endangered fern species from the montane wet forests and shrublands of the Marquesas Islands. In her illustration, Alice Tangerini was working from unmounted material in Kauai while on a 2-week travel to illustrate the ferns of the Marquesas Islands in September 2005. The fern, which was larger than an herbarium sheet, was photocopied at life size (about 70 cm), pieced together and then reduced to fit the 11”x17” format for the final plate. The plate was inked in 2007 and published in PhytoKeys in 2011.