Species

Nephrolepis cordifolia

Etymology

Nephrolepis: Kidney scale

Common Name(s)

tuber sword fern

Authority

Nephrolepis cordifolia (L.) C.Presl

Family

Nephrolepidaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Exotic

NVS Species Code

NEPCOR

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

Habitat

Terrestrial. Open forest, clay banks, track margins, rock outcrops. Lowland sites: rock outcrops, track margins.

Features

Terrestrial or epiphytic fern to 1 m. Rhizomes small, erect, scaly, producing many long runners and round, 1-3 cm hairy potato-like tubers (only fern with tubers). Fronds 40-100 x 5-8 cm, erect (arching when long), pinnae leaflets) serrated.

Similar Taxa

The indigenous Nephrolepis flexuosa is similar, fronds to only 65 cm, no tubers, rare (geothermal sites, Raoul). Nephrolepis exaltata (also called Boston fern) a common indoor fern, is occasionally found wild it differs from N. cordifolia by having wider, softer fronds and no tubers.

Flowering

N/A

Flower Colours

No Flowers

Year Naturalised

1974

Origin

pantropic

Reason For Introduction
Ornamental

Life Cycle Comments
Perennial

Reproduction
Reproduces vegetatively by tubers.

Dispersal
People, garden dumping.

This page last updated on 22 Aug 2017