Comptonia peregrina
(L.) J.M.Coult. · speciesAt a glance
Sources14 archives
Databases and archives Comptonia peregrina's data was compiled from.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation7 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility20 348 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI12 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics17 specimens↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinesequences↗
dukesphytochemcompounds
LOTUSNatural Products (Wikidata)compounds↗
NPASSNat. Product Activity & Species Sourcecompounds↗
GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
CCDBChromosome Counts DB · Tel Aviv U.genome & karyotype↗
PloiDBPloidy Databasegenome & karyotype
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.
Comptonia peregrina is a species of flowering plant in the family Myricaceae. It is the only extant (living) species in the genus Comptonia, although a number of extinct species are placed in the genus. Comptonia peregrina is native to eastern North America, from southern Quebec, east to Nova Scotia, south to the extreme north of Georgia, and west to Minnesota. The common name is sweetfern or sweet-fern (although it is not a fern), or in Quebec, .
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
Size & morphology3
Life cycle & reproduction24
Diet & foraging1
Habitat & environment25
Physiology & chemistry25
Uses & economy15
Other traits7
Compounds documented for Comptonia peregrina across natural-product and food-composition databases — not just the ~150 nutrients on a classic label ("nutritional dark matter").
Compound class profile5 classes
Documented compounds41 total
| Compound | Class | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| (+)-Valine | present | NPASS | |
| (-)-Caryophyllene | present | LOTUS | |
| (2s)-7-Hydroxy-5-methoxy-6-methyl flavanone | present | LOTUS | |
| (3R,3'R,13-cis)-beta,beta-Carotene-3,3'-diol | present | NPASS | |
| 2',4'-Dihydroxy-6'-methoxy-3'-methylchalcone | present | LOTUS | |
| 2',6'-Dihydroxy-3'-methyl-4'-methoxychalcone | present | LOTUS | |
| 2,6,6,9-Tetramethylcycloundeca-1,4,8-triene | present | LOTUS | |
| 3-O-Acetylpinobanksin; Pinobanksin 3-O-acetate; Pinobanksin 3-acetate | present | LOTUS | |
| 6-methoxy-7-[(2R,3S,4R,5R,6S)-3,4,5-trihydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)oxan-2-yl]oxychromen-2-one | present | NPASS | |
| 7-Methyl-3-methylene-1,6-octadiene | present | LOTUS |
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Comptonia peregrina has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
The complete instruction manual Comptonia peregrina carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is
Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
2n 324×CCDB · ipcn-api-dl · CCDB · book-fedorov · CCDB · book-atlas-flowering-plants
n 61×CCDB · ipcn-api-dl
polyploid inferred1×PloiDB · family-scale
How far back this lineage goes — and how we know. Everything here is measured in Ma, short for “mega-annum”: millions of years ago. The chart reads left to right like a calendar of the Earth, from the deep past on the left to today at the right edgetop to bottom like a core drilled through the Earth, from the deep past at the top down to today at the bottom.
At a glance
When this lineage existed
How to read this: the coloured strip along the bottomdown the left is the geological calendar — the standard epochs (Pliocene, Pleistocene…) every museum uses, shown so you can see which chapter of Earth's history this lineage lived in. This lineage is a young one, so the strip is zoomed in to epochs — the finer subdivisions inside a period. The orange marker is the DNA clock: DNA accumulates mutations at a roughly steady rate, so comparing this species' DNA with its relatives estimates when the lineage split off — independently of any fossil.
Record type20 348 records
Range
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Holding institutions77 of 116 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
| Institution | Specimens |
|---|---|
| Philadelphia, US | 235 |
| Madison, US | 214 |
| Chongqing Museumlocation not on record | 210 |
| St. Paul, US | 89 |
| Durham, US | 80 |
| Acadia Universitylocation not on record | 80 |
| Ann Arbor, US | 75 |
| Burlington, US | 57 |
| Québec, CA | 54 |
| Chapel Hill, US | 48 |
| New Haven, US | 48 |
| Allentown, US | 40 |
| Toronto, CA | 40 |
| Philadelphia, US | 38 |
| Green Bay, US | 38 |
| Museo civico La Terra e l'Uomo di Crocetta del Montellolocation not on record | 35 |
| Knoxville, US | 30 |
| Saint John, CA | 29 |
| Bangkok, TH | 28 |
| Bloomington, US | 27 |
| Blacksburg, US | 23 |
| Wuzhou, CN | 22 |
| James F. Matthews Center for Biodiversity Studieslocation not on record | 21 |
| College Park, US | 21 |
| Museo Entomologico de Leonlocation not on record | 18 |
| Bronx, US | 18 |
| Université Lavallocation not on record | 17 |
| University of New Hampshirelocation not on record | 16 |
| Millersville, US | 12 |
| New Brunswick, US | 11 |
| University of Lynchburglocation not on record | 11 |
| Mount Pleasant, US | 11 |
| Montréal, CA | 10 |
| University of Stellenboschlocation not on record | 10 |
| Williamsburg, US | 9 |
| Keene State Universitylocation not on record | 9 |
| University of Wisconsinlocation not on record | 9 |
| Dekalb, US | 8 |
| Kew, GB | 8 |
| Paris, FR | 8 |
| Whitewater, US | 8 |
| Logan, US | 7 |
| Hudson, US | 6 |
| Durham, US | 6 |
| Saint Louis, US | 6 |
| Western Carolina Universitylocation not on record | 5 |
| Riverside, US | 5 |
| Kingston, US | 5 |
| Mohonk Preservelocation not on record | 5 |
| University of Guelph, OAC Herbariumlocation not on record | 4 |
| Beijing, CN | 4 |
| Northridge, US | 4 |
| Florida Museum of Natural History- Zoology, Paleontology & Paleobotanylocation not on record | 4 |
| Dover, US | 4 |
| Pittsburg, US | 4 |
| Maryland Department of Natural Resourceslocation not on record | 3 |
| Oskarshamn, SE | 3 |
| China Agricultural Universitylocation not on record | 3 |
| McWane Science Centerlocation not on record | 3 |
| Long Beach, US | 3 |
| Santa Barbara, US | 3 |
| Staten Island, US | 3 |
| Columbia, US | 3 |
| Brookings, US | 2 |
| Pullman, US | 2 |
| University of Alberta Museumslocation not on record | 2 |
| San Jose State University, Museum of Birds and Mammalslocation not on record | 2 |
| Museum of the Rockieslocation not on record | 2 |
| Norfolk, US | 2 |
| Istituto Agrario Castelnuovolocation not on record | 2 |
| Flagstaff, US | 2 |
| EL PASO, US | 2 |
| Moscow State Universitylocation not on record | 2 |
| Washington, US | 2 |
| Berlin, DE | 2 |
| Ypsilanti, US | 2 |
| Chicago, US | 2 |
| Denver, US | 2 |
| Vancouver, CA | 2 |
| Emporia, US | 2 |
| University of North Carolina at Pembrokelocation not on record | 1 |
| Anchorage, US | 1 |
| MAlocation not on record | 1 |
| Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preservelocation not on record | 1 |
| University of Southern Mississippilocation not on record | 1 |
| Hobart, AU | 1 |
| Wellington, NZ | 1 |
| Claremont, US | 1 |
| Dresden, DE | 1 |
| Barcelona, ES | 1 |
| WTUlocation not on record | 1 |
| Whitehorse, CA | 1 |
| Waverly, US | 1 |
| Research Collection of B. A. Bennettlocation not on record | 1 |
| Chicago, US | 1 |
| Fredericksburg, US | 1 |
| Lubbock, US | 1 |
| Black Rock Forest Consortiumlocation not on record | 1 |
| Uppsala, SE | 1 |
| Fairfax, US | 1 |
| DOI/NPS, Greenbelt Parklocation not on record | 1 |
| Wlocation not on record | 1 |
| Little Rock, US | 1 |
| Cambridge, US | 1 |
| Jackson, US | 1 |
| DULlocation not on record | 1 |
| Johnson City, US | 1 |
| University of Wisconsinlocation not on record | 1 |
| MeiseBGlocation not on record | 1 |
| ASUlocation not on record | 1 |
| Asheville, US | 1 |
| DOI/NPS, Little Rock Central High School National Historic Sitelocation not on record | 1 |
| Canadian Department of Agriculturelocation not on record | 1 |
| BAYLUlocation not on record | 1 |
| Trondheim, NO | 1 |
| Boise, US | 1 |
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Where the DNA of Comptonia peregrina was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Where its DNA was found
How strong is each trace?
Modelled climatemodelled
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.