The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Notogrammitis ciliata

Etymology

Notogrammitis: From the Greek noto- ‘southern’ and gramma ‘line', referring to this new genus of southern strap ferns which were previously in Grammitis.
ciliata: From the Latin cilia 'eyelash', meaning fringed with hairs

Common Name(s)

strapfern

Current Conservation Status

2012 - Not Threatened

Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2012
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2012 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS). This report includes a statistical summary and brief notes on changes since 2009 and replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Authors: Peter J. de Lange, Jeremy R. Rolfe, Paul D. Champion, Shannel P. Courtney, Peter B. Heenan, John W. Barkla, Ewen K. Cameron, David A. Norton and Rodney A. Hitchmough. File size: 792KB

Previous Conservation Status

2009 - Not Threatened
2004 - Not Threatened

Authority

Notogrammitis ciliata (Colenso) Parris

Family

Polypodiaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

NOTCIL

Structural Class

Ferns

Synonyms

Grammitis ciliata Colenso; Polypodium australe var. villosum (Hook.f.) Cheeseman; Polypodium australe var. ciliata (Colenso) Kirk; Polypodium billardierei var. villosum (Hook.f.) Cheeseman; Polypodium paradoxum Colenso; Grammitis australis var. villosa Hook.f.

Distribution

Endemic. New Zealand: North and South Islands.

Habitat

Coastal to montane, usually terrestrial on damp earth and clay banks, or rupestral, less commonly epiphytic on both dead and living trees (often on exposed roots and buttresses) in closed forest overlying mostly older sedimentary and metamorphic rocks and volcanics

Features

Terrestrial, rupestral (or rarely a low epiphyte) fern. Rhizome erect to short-creeping; paleae light brown, lanceolate or rarely lanceolate-ovate,acute, rarely obtuse, 1.8-4.8 × 0.25-0.75 mm. Stipe indistinct, winged almost to base; stipe hairs whitish to pale red-brown, sparse to abundant, (0.2-)0.6-1.7mm long. Lamina linear-oblanceolate, acute, (17-)23-55(-95) × (2.0-)2.4-4.4(-6.0) mm; lamina hairs whitish to pale red-brown, sparse to common except in sori where usually abundant and sometimes longer than those elsewhere on the lamina, sometimes absent except in sori, (0.3-)0.6-1.5(-2.0) mm long, lacking shorter abundant marginal hairs as in G. pseudociliata; texture thinly coriaceous; veins ± visible to visible in transmitted light, sometimes raised on upper surface in dried specimens, vein endings not darkened; midrib raised on lower surface, usually darker than lamina. Sori subglobose to oblong, oblique or nearly parallel to midrib, sometimes nearly covering frond under-surface when mature, in middle or middle and upper part of frond, (1-)4-16 pairs, 1.0-4.0 X 1.0-1.5 mm; soral vein not extending beyond sorus, usually shorter than basiscopic vein, neither reaching the margin. Sporangia (150-)166.4-207.0(-260) microns long; indurated cells of annulus (9.0-)10.8-13.0(-16.0). Spores (19.0-)24.0-27.8(-33.0) microns diameter.

Similar Taxa

Notogrammitis ciliata is recognised by the lamina being < 100 mm long (mostly 25-45 × 2.5-4.5 mm) and bearing scattered marginal hairs which are of comparable length to those in the sorus (the soral hairs in this species are > 0.5 mm, slender, and never hooked). Irrespective Notogrammitis ciliata remains a very variable species with distinct races which may yet deserve taxonomic segregation

Flowering

Not applicable - spore producing

Flower Colours

No Flowers

Fruiting

Not applicable - spore producing

Propagation Technique

Difficult. Should not be removed from the wild

Threats

Not Threatened

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

Life Cycle and Dispersal

Minute spores are wind dispersed (Thorsen et al., 2009).

This page last updated on 28 Sep 2014