Cystopteris tasmanica
Common names
bladder fern
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Ferns
Detailed description
Terrestrial often lithophytic, deciduous ferns. Rhizome short-creeping, scaly; scales thin, brown, glossy, hair-tipped. Fronds tufted, crowded, 100–430 mm long. Stipes 20–180 mm long, thin, brittle, pale brown, scaly at base, glabrous above. Laminae 20–250 × 15–75 mm wide, yellow-green to green, narrowly ovate, narrowly oblong, oblong-lanceolate, 2-pinnate, membranous, very delicate, glabrous, with widely spaced pinnae. Primary pinnae up to 5–40 × 4–15 mm, ovate to oblong, apices blunt or rounded; those of smaller fronds divided into elliptic secondary pinnae up to 3–10 × 2–6 mm, apices blunt or rounded. Veins free. Sori numerous, rounded, in one row either side of midrib set away from pinna margins, submarginal; indusium ovate, pale delicate, attached at broader end to a vein arching over sori.
Similar taxa
Distinguished from the naturalised Cystopteris fragilis by the smaller size, shorter more sparsely divided fronds, and by the shorter primary pinnae with broadly obtuse apices.
Distribution
Indigenous. New Zealand: North Island (uncommon from the Kaimai Ranges to the Tararua Ranges including Mt Taranaki), South Island (widespread). Also Australia (New South Wales, eastern Victoria), Tasmania.
Habitat
Montane to subalpine in northern part of range descending to lower elevations in the far south. Usually found in crevices on cliff faces, under rock overhangs or in shaded sites amongst boulders. Very occasionally found growing in open grassland or on rocks within beech (Nothofagaceae spp.) forest.
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.
Please note, threat classifications are often suggested by authors when publications fall between NZTCS assessment periods – these interim threat classification statuses has not been assessed by the NZTCS panel.
- 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 | Qualifiers: SO
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Cystopteridaceae
Synonyms
Cystopteris fragilis sensu Allan (1961); Woodsia laetevirens Prent. ex F.M.Bailey; Cystopteris fragilis var. tasmanica (Hook.) Hook.f.; Cystopteris fragilis var. laetevirens (Prent.) C.Chr.; Cystopteris fragilis sensu Hook.f.; Cystopteris novae-zealandiae J.B.Armstr.
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Life cycle and dispersal
Minute winged spores dispersed by wind (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Propagation technique
Easily grown in colder areas with best results obtained if it is planted in a shady site, in a humus rich, free draining but moist soil. It benefits from regular applications of lime. Cystopteris tasmanica is deciduous.
Other information
Where To Buy
Not commercially available
Etymology
cystopteris: From the Greek kystis ‘bag’ and pteris ‘wing’ or ‘fern’, alluding to the sack-like covereing of the sori
tasmanica: Named after Abel Janzoon Tasman (1603-1659) who in the 17th century was the first European to sight Van Dieman’s land (now known as Tasmania)
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.
CYSTAS
Chromosome number
2n = 168
Previous conservation statuses
2017 | Not Threatened | Qualifiers: SO
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Jones DL. 1998. Athyriaceae. Flora of Australia 48, Ferns Gymnosperms and allied groups: 418–429. ABRS/CSIRO Victoria, Australia.
Brownsey PJ, Smith-Dodsworth JC. 2000. New Zealand Ferns and Allied Plants. David Bateman, Auckland, NZ. 168 p.
Rothfels CJ, Sundue MA, Kuo Li-Y, Larsson A, Kato M, Schuettpelz E, Pryer KM. 2012. A revised family-leve classification for eupolypod II ferns (Polypodiidae: Polypodiales). Taxon 61(3): 515–533. https://doi.org/10.1002/tax.613003.
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 for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange (18 January 2012). Description adapted from Brownsey & Smith-Dodsworth (2000). Family follows Rothfels et al. (2012).
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Cystopteris tasmanica Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/cystopteris-tasmanica/ (Date website was queried)