Hymenophyllum armstrongii
Common name
filmy fern
Synonyms
Craspedophyllum armstrongii (Baker) Copel.; Hymenophyllum cheesemanii var. armstrongii (Baker) Cheeseman; Hymenophyllum melanocheilos Colenso; Microtrichomanes armstrongii (Baker) Copel.; Trichomanes armstrongii Baker in Hook. et Baker; Craspedophyllum cheesemanii (Baker) N.A.Wakef.; Hymenophyllum cheesemanii Baker in Hook.f.
Family
Hymenophyllaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Native
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Ferns
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.
HYMARM
Chromosome number
2n = 26
Current conservation status
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2017 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS). This report includes a statistical summary and brief notes on changes since 2012 and replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Authors: By Peter J. de Lange, Jeremy R. Rolfe, John W. Barkla, Shannel P. Courtney, Paul D. Champion, Leon R. Perrie, Sarah M. Beadel, Kerry A. Ford, Ilse Breitwieser, Ines Schönberger, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Peter B. Heenan and Kate Ladley.
2012 | Not Threatened
Previous conservation statuses
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Habitat
Coastal to montane (in the North Island almost strictly montane), but extending to lowland and coastal areas in the western South Island and Stewart Island. Usually in closed forest where it is typically seen as a high epiphyte on tree trunks and branches often growing intermingled within epiphytic mat-forming mosses such as Macromitrium. Also found on damp rocks and cliff faces.
Features
Diminutive, mat-forming fern. Rhizomes long-creeping, gracile, pliant, brittle when dry. Stipes 1-10 mm long, glabrous, membranous, not winged. Laminae oblong, undivided or forked 1-2×, 5-20 × 1-3 mm, dark green with conspicuous black midribs, glabrous, margins usually black, bearing prominent spines. Sori conspicuous, terminal, slightly sunken into lamina. Indusial flaps smooth-edged. Description adapted from Brownsey & Smith-Dodsworth.
Similar taxa
A distinctive species readily distinguished from all other filmy ferns by its small size, oblong undivided or sparingly divided, dark green fronds with dark black midrib and spiny margins, and by the slightly sunken terminal sori.
Flowering
N.A.
Flower colours
No flowers
Fruiting
N.A.
Life cycle
Minute spores are wind dispersed (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Propagation technique
Difficult - should not be removed from the wild.
Etymology
hymenophyllum: Membranous leaf, from the Greek humen and phullon
armstrongii: Named either after Joseph Francis Armstrong (1820-1902) or his son John Beattie Armstrong (1850-1926).
Where To Buy
Not commercially available
Attribution
Fact Sheet Prepared for NZPCN by: P.J. de Lange (17 April 2011). Description adapted from Brownsey & Smith-Dodsworth.
References and further reading
Brownsey, P.J.; Smith-Dodsworth, J.C. 2000: New Zealand Ferns and Allied Plants. Auckland, David Bateman
Thorsen, M. J.; Dickinson, K. J. M.; Seddon, P. J. 2009. Seed dispersal systems in the New Zealand flora. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 11: 285-309
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Hymenophyllum armstrongii Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/hymenophyllum-armstrongii/ (Date website was queried)