The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Sticherus flabellatus var. flabellatus

Etymology

Sticherus: in rows; from the greek sticheres; arrangement of the spore clusters
flabellatus: fan shaped; from the Latin flabellum; shape of the leaves

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 - Sparse

Qualifiers

2009 - SO

Authority

Sticherus flabellatus (R.Br.) H.St. John var. flabellatus

Family

Gleicheniaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

Structural Class

Ferns

Synonyms

Gleichenia flabellata R. Br.

Distribution

Indigenous. In New Zealand known from scattered locations from North Cape south to the Karangahake Gorge, and from the South Island in small, widely scattered populations from North West Nelson south to the Denniston Plateau (North Westland). It is probably most common on Great Barrier Island. Common in Australia.

Habitat

Coastal to lowland. In the North Island usually associated with kauri (Agathis australis) forest, and/or regenerating forest and scrub nearby established kauri forest remnants. It also grows along steep sided streams and on rocks within gorges. In the South Island it tends to favour stream sides in mixed lowland and coast forest, or in scrub though it also occurs in North Westland within upland coal measures in places subject to seasonal snow falls.

Features

Colonial yellow-green to green umbrella fern. Fronds erect 1–1.4 m tall, rather glossy above, dull below. Stipes 0.2–0.6 m long, pale brown, glabrous, rather wiry. Rachises in 1(–2) tiers, each forking 2–3 times, 100–300 mm from the stipe to the tip of the longest branch, erect and spreading, flabellate, glabrous or slightly scaly. Pinnae linear up to 40 x 3 mm, apex acute, glossy yellow-green to green above paler beneath. Sori in one row either side of the midrib but away for the pinna margins, 4–5 sporangia in each, without indusia. Description adapted from Chinnock & Bell (1998).

Similar Taxa

Rather distinctive, the broad, fan-shaped, yellow-green to green concolorous fronds serve to distinguish it from the only other common Sticherus in New Zealand, S. cunninghamii (Hook.f.) Ching, which has much more divided fronds, with shorter pinnules dark green above and whitish beneath. Its pinnae are also markedly more scaly. Distinction from the little known (in New Zealand) S. tener (R.Br.) Ching is less clear but this species has its pinnae arising at right angles to the rachis branches. In New Zealand it is only known from one somewhat inadequate gathering made from the Five Fingers Peninsula, Dusky Sound, Fiordland - well south of the southern limit for S. flabellatus in New Zealand.

Flowering

Not applicable - spore producing

Flower Colours

No Flowers

Fruiting

Not applicable - spore producing

Propagation Technique

Can be grown from rooted pieces and fresh spores. However, spores can be very tricky to raise and plants resent root disturbance. Nevertheless once established this species is one of the few members of the New Zealand Gleicheniaceae that is easily maintained in cultivation.

Threats

Not actively threatened. However, with the exception of Great Barrier Island it is never common anywhere, and some populations are very small and vulnerable to land clearance and mining, particularly those on the Denniston Plateau

Chromosome No.

2n = 68

Endemic Taxon

No

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

This page last updated on 17 Jun 2017