Calochlaena dubia

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False bracken
Bracken & sandstone.jpg
False bracken at Chatswood West, New South Wales
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Polypodiophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Cyatheales
Family: Dicksoniaceae
Genus: Calochlaena
Species:
C. dubia
Binomial name
Calochlaena dubia
Synonyms

Culcita dubia R.Br.

Calochlaena dubia, commonly known as soft bracken, false bracken, common ground fern or rainbow fern, is a small Australian fern in the treefern family Dicksoniaceae. It is very common within its range, and often seen growing under eucalyptus forest, often on the poorer quality soils. [1] It is an easy plant to grow in the garden.

Contents

Taxonomy

One of the many plants described by Scottish botanist Robert Brown in 1810, with the name Davallia dubia, [2] it gained its current name with the new genus Calochlaena described in 1988. [3] The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek kalos "beautiful" and chlaina "cloak", and refers to the soft hairs on the species, [4] while the species name dubia is the Latin dubious. It was known for many years as Culcita dubia, [5] before the genus Calochlaena was split out in 1988. [6]

The true brackens belong to the family Dennstaedtiaceae. [7]

Description

at Maroochy Botanic Gardens Calochlaena dubia.jpg
at Maroochy Botanic Gardens

The fronds arise from the thick brown haired rhizomes and are anywhere from 0.4 to 1.5 m in height. [1] The foliage is a more yellow green colour, in contrast to the darker shiny green of bracken ( Pteridium esculentum ). The stipe changes from dark brown, through reddish- to yellow brown, and is covered with soft brown hairs. The fronds are triangular overall and tripinnate-pinnatifid in shape. The sori occur near the margin. [8]

Distribution and habitat

Calochlaena dubia is found as an understory plant in open forests and rainforests in eastern Australia, from Queensland, through New South Wales and Victoria into Tasmania. It can form large banks or swathes. [8]

Cultivation

Well suited to the garden, Calochlaena dubia is an easy plant to grow. [9] In fact, it must be kept in check by cutting the rhizomes and given plenty of room. It does well on clay soils. [5]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Pteridium aquilinum</i> Species of plant (fern)

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<i>Oplismenus</i> Genus of grasses

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<i>Bellendena</i> Genus of plants in the family Proteaceae

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<i>Acidonia</i> Monotypic genus of shrub in the family Proteaceae

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<i>Asplenium australasicum</i> Species of fern in the family Aspleniaceae

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<i>Astroloma pinifolium</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Gahnia aspera</i> Species of grass-like plant

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<i>Pteridium esculentum</i> Species of plant

Pteridium esculentum, commonly known as bracken fern, Austral bracken or simply bracken, is a species of the bracken genus native to a number of countries in the Southern Hemisphere. Esculentum means edible. First described as Pteris esculenta by German botanist Georg Forster in 1786, it gained its current binomial name in 1908. The Eora people of the Sydney region knew it as gurgi.

<i>Pteris tremula</i> Species of fern

Pteris tremula, commonly known as Australian brake, tender brake, tender brakefern, shaking brake is a fern species of the family Pteridaceae native to sheltered areas and forests in eastern Australia and New Zealand. It has pale green, lacy fronds of up to 2 meters in length, with an erect, tufted rhizome that is covered with narrow brown scales. It is fast-growing and easy to grow in cultivation, but can become weedy.

<i>Calochlaena</i> Genus of ferns

Calochlaena is a genus of ferns within the family Dicksoniaceae. Although these ground ferns resemble bracken, they are only distantly related. Five species are known from Melanesia, Polynesia and eastern Australia. Calochlaena dubia, is a common fern of the east coast of Australia. The name is derived from the Ancient Greek kalos "beautiful" and chlaina "cloak", and refers to the soft hairs on the species.

<i>Gleichenia dicarpa</i> Species of plant

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<i>Angiopteris evecta</i> Species of fern in the family Marattiaceae

Angiopteris evecta, commonly known as the king fern, giant fern, elephant fern, oriental vessel fern, Madagascar tree fern, or mule's Foot fern, is a very large rainforest fern in the family Marattiaceae native to most parts of Southeast Asia and Oceania. It has a history dating back about 300 million years, and is believed to have the longest fronds of any fern in the world.

<i>Adiantum hispidulum</i> Species of fern

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<i>Adiantum aethiopicum</i> Species of plant

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<i>Adiantum formosum</i> Species of fern

Adiantum formosum, known as the giant maidenhair or black stem maidenhair is a fern found in Australia and New Zealand. It was one of the many species authored by Scottish botanist Robert Brown, appearing in his 1810 work Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen. Its species name is the Latin adjective formosus "handsome" or "beautiful".

<i>Decaspermum humile</i> Species of tree

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<i>Gmelina fasciculiflora</i> Species of tree

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References

  1. 1 2 "Calochlaena dubia". PlantNET - NSW Flora Online. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  2. "Davallia dubia R.Br". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
  3. "Calochlaena dubia (R.Br.) M.D.Turner & R.A.White". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
  4. "Calochlaena". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
  5. 1 2 Elliot, Rodger W.; Jones, David L. (1984). "Ce-Er". In Elliot, Rodger W.; Jones, David L. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Australian Plants suitable for cultivation. Vol. 3. Lothian Publishing. p. 130. ISBN   0-85091-167-2.
  6. Richard A. White; Melvin D. Turner (1988). "Calochlaena, a New Genus of Dicksonioid Ferns". American Fern Journal. 78 (3): 86–95. doi:10.2307/1547627. JSTOR   1547627.
  7. "Pteridium". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
  8. 1 2 Fairley A, Moore P (2000). Native Plants of the Sydney District:An Identification Guide (2nd ed.). Kenthurst, NSW: Kangaroo Press. p. 34. ISBN   0-7318-1031-7.
  9. "Calochlaena dubia (DICKSONIACEAE) False Bracken". Save or Waterways Now. 2008. Retrieved 9 July 2010.