Arachniodes aristata
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Ferns
Detailed description
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 × 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.
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.
Current conservation status
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.
- Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2023 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: OL, SO
Threats
Not threatened. Listed only because it is known in the New Zealand Botanical Region from the one location, Raoul Island.
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
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
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Life cycle and dispersal
Minute spores are wind dispersed (Thorsen et al., 2009).
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.
Other information
Where To Buy
Not commercially available
NVS code
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.
ARAARI
Chromosome number
2n = 164
Previous conservation statuses
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.
- Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2017 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: OL, SO
2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: OL, SO
2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: SO, OL
2004 | Range Restricted
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Thorsen MJ, Dickinson KJM, Seddon PJ. 2009. Seed dispersal systems in the New Zealand flora. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 11: 285–309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ppees.2009.06.001.
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by P.J. de Lange for NZPCN (1 June 2013)
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Arachniodes aristata Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/arachniodes-aristata/ (Date website was queried)