Species

Arachniodes aristata

Common Name(s)

None known

Current Conservation Status

2012 - At Risk - Naturally Uncommon

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 - At Risk - Naturally Uncommon
2004 - Range Restricted

Qualifiers

2012 - OL, SO
2009 - SO, OL

Authority

Arachniodes aristata (G.Forst.) Tindale

Family

Dryopteridaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

ARAARI

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

Polystichopsis aristata (G.Forst.) Holttum; Polystichum aristatum (G.Forst.) C.Presl; Rumohra aristata (G.Forst.) Ching; Lastrea aristata (G.Forst.) T.Moore; Nephrodium aristatum (G.Forst.) C.Presl; Polypodium aristatum G.Forst.; Aspidium aristatum (G.Forst.) Sw.; Byrsopteris aristata (G.Forst.) C.V.Morton; Dryopteris aristata (G.Forst.) Kuntze

Distribution

Indigenous. In New Zealand known only from Raoul Island. Also recorded from Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands

Habitat

Common on Raoul Island within dry, usually shaded lowland forest, where it grows amongst sparsely vegetated leaf litter.

Features

Stout terrestrial fern of the forest floor. Rhizomes long-creeping, scaly. Stipes 0.2-0.86 m long, stiff and wiry, scaly, particularly near the base. Frond lamina broadly ovate, deltoid to 5-angled, 3-pinnate, 0.3-0.8 x 0.2-0.5 m, dark glossy green above, paler beneath, harshly textured, midribs scaly, Primary pinnae long-stalked, narrowly ovate above, ovate below, the longest at base. Basal basiscopic secondary pinna on each basal primary pinna greatly enlarged. Ultimate segments acutely toothed.

Flowering

Not applicable - spore producing

Flower Colours

No Flowers

Fruiting

Not applicable - spore producing

Propagation Technique

Easily grown from fresh spores and rooted pieces. Cold sensitive but does well in a free draining soil in a shaded warm site or in a pot. Once established very drought tolerant. Not commonly cultivated in New Zealand but it has proved hardy in Aucklands climate.

Threats

Not threatened. Listed only because it is known in the New Zealand Botanical Region from the one location, Raoul Island.

Chromosome No.

2n = 164

Endemic Taxon

No

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

Life Cycle and Dispersal

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

Where To Buy

Not commercially available

References and further reading

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 2009 Vol. 11 No. 4 pp. 285-309

This page last updated on 10 May 2014