Gleichenia rupestris

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Gleichenia rupestris
Gleichenia rupestris Blackheath.jpg
Coral fern at Blue Mountains National Park, Australia
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Polypodiophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Gleicheniales
Family: Gleicheniaceae
Genus: Gleichenia
Species:
G. rupestris
Binomial name
Gleichenia rupestris
Synonyms

Platyzoma rupestre
Mertensia rupestris
Gleicheniastrum rupestre
Calymella rupestris
Gleichenia circinnata var. rupestris [1]

Gleichenia rupestris is a small fern growing in eastern Australia. Referred to as one of the coral ferns. The specific epithet rupestris refers to it being seen growing near rocks.

A common plant, often seen growing under waterfalls, in swamps, under cliffs, on rocks and in tall open forest. It prefers high humidity and good levels of sunshine and moisture. [2]

It sometimes seen growing next to Gleichenia dicarpa and Gleichenia microphylla , however those plants have a rough hairy stem, and the stem of Gleichenia rupestris is smooth and glossy.

This plant first appeared in scientific literature in the Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae in the year 1810, authored by Robert Brown.

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Gleichenia polypodioides (L.) Sm., commonly known as coral fern, kystervaring or ystervaring due to its glabrous, brown, wiry stipes. The species is widespread in south- and east tropical Africa, southern Africa and the western Indian Ocean region. It occurs naturally in a broad coastal belt in South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Angola, Malawi, Burundi, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, Réunion, Amsterdam Island and Madagascar, and was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1771 under the name Onoclea polypodioides. Often forming dense and impenetrable thickets, sometimes over large areas, this rhizomatous perennial is an important pioneer in disturbed areas such as pine plantations. It is often mistakenly seen as an exotic invader rather than as a useful rehabilitation plant, a source of peat and growing medium, while showing exceptional resistance to herbicides.

Rhizome brown, 1–2.5 mm. in diam., creeping, with long-spined dark-brown scales up to 0.5 mm. in diam., with fronds spaced 2–20 cm. apart. Stipe castaneous, up to 60 cm. long and up to 1.5 mm. in diam., glabrous or with a few scales similar to those on the rhizome, shallowly sulcate. Frond bifurcate to reniform-lunate in outline, with 1 level of false dichotomy in each lateral branch system arising from each side of the terminal bud; all branches bearing distant foliar segments. Aborted apical buds up to 1.2 mm. long, clothed in dark-brown lanceolate laciniate scales. Pinnules linear, up to 7 x 0.75 cm., pinnate, usually glabrous, divided into sessile rounded entire triangular lobes, 3 x 2 mm., green to glaucous below. Sori partially immersed in the lamina, consisting of 2–4 sporangia, each in a separate but adjoining pit.

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Schizaea rupestris is a small Australian fern. Most populations are in found in the ranges near Sydney. However, it also occurs near Woolgoolga and Western Australia.

Pimelea rupestris is a species of flowering plant in the family Thymelaeaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a shrub with hairy young stems, elliptic to egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, and heads of white flowers that are either all male or all female.

References

  1. see Australian National Botanic Gardens website.
  2. "Gleichenia rupestris". PlantNET - NSW Flora Online. Retrieved 2010-08-28.