Species

Cystopteris tasmanica

Etymology

Cystopteris: From the Greek kystis 'bag' and pteris 'wing' or 'fern', alluding to the sack-like covereing of the sori
tasmanica: Named after Abel Janzoon Tasman (1603-1659) who in the 17th century was the first European to sight Van Dieman's land (now known as Tasmania)

Common Name(s)

bladder fern

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

Cystopteris tasmanica Hook.

Family

Cystopteridaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

CYSTAS

The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.

Structural Class

Ferns

Synonyms

Cystopteris fragilis sensu Allan (1961); Woodsia laetevirens Prent. ex F.M.Bailey; Cystopteris fragilis var. tasmanica (Hook.) Hook.f.; Cystopteris fragilis var. laetevirens (Prent.) C.Chr.; Cystopteris fragilis sensu Hook.f.; Cystopteris novae-zealandiae J.B.Armstr.

Distribution

Indigenous. New Zealand: North and South Islands (in the North Island uncommon from the Kaimai Ranges to the Tararua Ranges including Mt Taranaki; widespread throughout the South Island). Also Australia (New South Wales, eastern Victoria), Tasmania.

Habitat

Montane to subalpine in northern part of range descending to lower altitudes in the far south. Usually found in crevices on cliff faces, under rock overhangs or in shaded sites amongst boulders. Very occasionally found growing in open grassland or on rocks within beech (Nothofagus spp.) forest.

Features

Terrestrial often lithophytic, deciduous ferns. Rhizome short-creeping, scaly; scales thin, brown, glossy, hair-tipped. Fronds tufted, crowded, 100-430 mm long. Stipes 20-180 mm long, thin, brittle, pale brown, scaly at base, glabrous above. Laminae 20-250 × 15-75 mm wide, yellow-green to green, narrowly ovate, narrowly oblong, oblong-lanceolate, 2-pinnate, membranous, very delicate, glabrous, with widely spaced pinnae. Primary pinnae up to 5-40 × 4-15 mm, ovate to oblong, apices blunt or rounded; those of smaller fronds divided into elliptic secondary pinnae up to 3-10 × 2-6 mm, apices blunt or rounded. Veins free. Sori numerous, rounded, in one row either side of midrib set away from pinna margins, submarginal; indusium ovate, pale delicate, attached at broader end to a vein arching over sori.

Similar Taxa

Distinguished from the naturalised Cystopteris fragilis by the smaller size, shorter more sparsely divided fronds, and by the shorter primary pinnae with broadly obtuse apices.

Flowering

Not applicable - spore producing

Flower Colours

No Flowers

Fruiting

Not applicable - spore producing

Propagation Technique

Easily grown in colder areas with best results obtained if it is planted in a shady site, in a humus rich, free draining but moist soil. It benefits from regular applications of lime. Cystopteris tasmanica is deciduous.

Threats

Not Threatened

Chromosome No.

2n = 168

Endemic Taxon

No

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

Life Cycle and Dispersal

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

Where To Buy

Not commercially available

Attribution

Fact sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange (18 January 2012). Description adapted from Brownsey & Smith-Dodsworth (2000). Family follows Rothfels et al. (2012).

References and further reading

Jones, D.L. 1998: Athyriaceae. Pp. 418-429. Flora of Australia 48. Australian Biological Resources Study, CSIRO Canberra  

Brownsey, P.J.; Smith-Dodsworth, J.C. 2000: New Zealand Ferns and Allied Plants. Auckland, David Bateman.

Rothfels, C.J.; Sundue, M.A.; Kuo, Li-Y.; Larsson, A.; Kato M.; Schuettpelz, E.; Pryer, K.M. 2012: A revised family-leve classification for eupolypod II ferns (Polypodiidae: Polypodiales). Taxon 61(3): 515-533.

Thorsen, M. J.; Dickinson, K. J. M.; Seddon, P. J. 2009. Seed dispersal systems in the New Zealand flora. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 11: 285-309

This page last updated on 14 Aug 2014