Species

Pteris tremula

Etymology

Pteris: A fern known to the ancient Greeks; from the Greek pteris

Common Name(s)

shaking or tender brake, Australian bracken

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

Pteris tremula R. Br.

Family

Pteridaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

PTETRE

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

Distribution

Indigenous. New Zealand: Kermadec Islands (Raoul, Meyers and Macauley Islands), Three Kings, North, South, Chatham Islands. Also Australia, Tasmania, Lord Howe, Norfolk and Fiji.

Habitat

Coastal to montane (in northern part of range) in open, dry forest, scrub, wasteland, along track and roadsides and on retaining walls and similar sites in built up areas.

Features

Stout terrestrial ferns. Rhizomes short, erect, apex covered with long narrow, pale brown scales. Fronds dimorphic, tufted. Stipes 0.15-0.6 m long, glabrous (rarely with a few narrow basal scales), red-brown or black, often basally so and then red-yellow for rest of length. Laminae 0.3-1.2 × 0.2-0.7 m, bright green, yellow-green or yellow, ovate, ovate-deltoid, 3-4-pinnate at base, membranous, rachis red-brown or yellow-green. Pinnae overlapping; most secondary pinnae stalked or sessile. Ultimate sterile segments 6-38 × 3 mm wide, linear, apices blunt margins toothed; ultimate fertile segments 5-35 × 1-2 mm, linear, apices blunt, margins toothed. Veins free, simple or 1-2-forked. Sori ± continuous on a marginal vein, but absent from bases and apices of ultimate segments, protected by a membranous inrolled pinna margins

Similar Taxa

Distinguished from the other species of Pteris indigenous or naturalised in New Zealand by the lamina which has free veins, 3-4-pinnate laminae at the base and 3-pinnate at the middle. It is perhaps superficially most similar to the uncommon naturalised Pteris dentata Forssk.

Flowering

Not applicable - spore producing

Flower Colours

No Flowers

Fruiting

Not applicable - spore producing

Propagation Technique

Very easily grown, often naturalizing in gardens and becoming weedy (and may even self establish in urban areas from spores blown in from elsewhere). Very fast growing and tolerate of most conditions except waterlogged soils and heavy shade

Threats

Not Threatened

Chromosome No.

2n = c.240

Endemic Taxon

No

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

 

 
      
 
 

Attribution

Fact sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange (17 January 2012). Description adapted from Brownsey & Smith-Dodsworth (2000) and Kramer & McCarthy (1998).

References and further reading

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

Kramer, K.U.; McCarthy, P.M. 1998: Pteridiaceae. Pp. 241-248. Flora of Australia 48. Australian Biological Resources Study, CSIRO Canberra

This page last updated on 11 Aug 2014