Botrychium biforme
Common names
fine-leaved parsley fern
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Ferns
Flower colours
No flowers
Detailed description
Stout, fleshy reddish green (bronze) to green plants. Roots thick, fleshy, not ridged or contracted. Sterile laminae 1–(2) stalked, broadly ovate or 5-angled, divided 5–8 times, 30–250 × 30–150 mm, ultimate segments acute, 0.05–0.1 mm wide. Fertile laminae 1–(2) borne on a narrower but longer stalk, fertile portion shorter and narrower than sterile laminae, divided 3–5-times, bearing numerous, spherical, yellow-brown sporangia up to c. 10 mm diameter.
Similar taxa
Botrychium australe R.Br. from which B. biforme differs by the absence of ridged, contractile roots, and by the more finely divided sterile fronds whose ultimate segments are 0.1–1 mm wide. Botrychium biforme may be found growing intermixed with B. australe.
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: North Island, South Island, from Mt Pirongia south often sporadic but can be locally common.
Habitat
Lowland to alpine. Preferring open ground, short and tall tussock grassland, forest clearings, shrubland, river flats, frsot flats, reverting pasture and seasonally flooded ground. It is often found in deeply shaded sites within tall forest, or under dense thickets of grey scrub or frost flat vegetation.
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 | Not Threatened
Threats
Not Threatened—however often local and sporadic in its occurrences. This species seems mor etolerant of heavily shaded situations and forested habitats than B. australe, and there doe snot appear to be any suggestion of a decline happening within any part of its range.
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Synonyms
Botrychium australe var. millefolium (Milde) Prantl; Botrychium cicutarium var. dissectum Hook.f.; Botrychium ternatum var. dissectum G.M.Thomson; Botrychium dissectum sensu J.B.Armstr.; Sceptridium biforme (Colenso) Lyon;
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
Not applicable—spore producing
Fruiting
Not applicable—spore producing
Life cycle and dispersal
Minute spores are wind dispersed (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Propagation technique
Difficult. Should not be removed from the wild
Other information
Etymology
botrychium: Bunch of grapes; from the Greek botrus; grape like spore clusters
biforme: Two forms or shapes of leaves, from the Latin bi and formis
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.
BOTBIF
Chromosome number
2n = 90
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 | Not Threatened
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Regional conservation statuses
The regional threat classification system leverages off the national assessments in the NZTCS, providing information relevant for the regional context. Otago conservation status information is sourced from the “Regional conservation status of indigenous vascular plants in Otago” Jarvie S et al. (2024) report.
Otago: 2024 | Threatened – Regionally Critical | Qualifiers: DPR, DPS, DPT, Sp
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Brownsey PJ, Smith-Dodsworth JC. 2000. New Zealand Ferns and Allied Plants. David Bateman, Auckland, NZ. 168 p.
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 by P.J. de Lange 6 June 2005. Description from Brownsey & Smith-Dodsworth (2000).
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Botrychium biforme Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/botrychium-biforme/ (Date website was queried)