#austroblechnum

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#2296 - Austroblechnum penna-marina - Little Hard Fern

AKA Blechnum penna-marina, Struthiopteris distans, Stegania alpina, Lomaria alpina, Blechnum alpinum, Lomaria linearis, Lomaria pumila, Spicanta pumila, Lomaria parvifolia, Blechnum parvifolium, Lomaria distans, Blechnum hillii, Antarctic hard-fern, alpine water fern and pinque (Chilean Spanish).

Native to Australia, New Zealand, some Pacific and Subantarctic islands, parts of Chile, and parts of Argentina. The fronds may be 25 cm long. An easily propagated and hardy groundcover, surviving temperatures as low as -25C.

Horopito, North Island Volcanic Plateau, New Zealand

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#1956 - Austroblechnum chambersii - Lance Water-Fern

This is hardly the last New Zealand fern I’m likely to cover - some people call it the Land of Ferns, and there’s a reason why the Silver Fern Flag is the unofficial flag of the country. This isn’t that species, however.

AKA Blechnum chambersii, nini and rereti. Native to SE Australia, Samoa, Fiji and on the North Island of New Zealand and in many of the coastal forests of South Island. Usually found near creeks in shady, moist forests, where it grows in erect tufts on the forest floor or among rocks, or with downward arching fronds on wet banks as in these photos, or on fallen logs at the bases of tree-ferns.

The sterile and fertile fronds are quite different in appearance. The formermay be up to 60cm long, but the fertile fronds are shorter and limper.

The only known foodplant for the New Zealand moth Batrachedra litterata. In some parts of its range the  starchy rhizomes are eaten raw or roasted.