Lygodium articulatum
Common names
mangemange, bushman’s mattress, makamaka
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Ferns
Flower colours
No flowers
Detailed description
Climbing fern. Rhizomes creeping, hairy. Frond glabrous, high climbing. Stipe and rachises of indeterminate length, twisting and climbing to tops of surrounding vegetation, tough, wiry, pliant. Sterile and fertile pinnae markedly dimorphic, veins free. Midribs of sterile pinnae forked 2–3× ending in oblong secondary pinnae 40–100 × 5–20 mm, with rounded apices and smooth margins, adaxially bright green, abaxially glaucescent. Midribs of fertile pinnae forked many times, ending in fan-shaped lobule segments 5–10 mm long. Sporangia borne in spikes on the margins of lobule segments, each protected by an outgrowth of the lamina margin. (Description modified from Brownsey & Smith-Dodsworth (2000)).
Similar taxa
Easily recognised by the climbing twisting fronds arising for a long creeping rhizome, and which are usually interwoven into a dense tangle. These interwoven tangles make and excellent mattress and many a tramper has used these when caught out in the northern forests for the night. The only problem is that they are also a favoured home of tree wētā, as many-a-tramper-caught-out-in-the-northern-forest-for-the-night comes to appreciate!
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: North Island from North Cape (Whiriwhiri Stream) south to Marokopa and the Bay of Plenty.
Habitat
Coastal and lowland to lower montan forest. Sometimes in gumland scrub.
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
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Lygodiaceae
Synonyms
Lygodium gracilescens Colenso
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
Not applicable - spore producing
Fruiting
Not applicable—spore producing
Propagation technique
Once established Lygodium articulatum is easy to maintain, has rapid growth and soon forms an attractive “tangle” on a suitable host tree. It is not fussy about soil type but doesn’t flourish in poorly drained soils, and should be planted in a partially shaded site where the fronds can grow up into the sun.
Other information
Cultivation
Occasionally available from specialist native plant nurseries
Etymology
lygodium: From the Greek lukos (wolf) and podion (foot)
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.
LYGART
Chromosome number
2n = c.140
Previous conservation statuses
2017 | Not Threatened
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Brownsey PJ, Smith-Dodsworth JC. 2000. New Zealand Ferns and Allied Plants. David Bateman, Auckland, NZ. 168 pp.
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange (10 March 2011). Description modified from Brownsey & Smith-Dodsworth (2000).
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Lygodium articulatum Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/lygodium-articulatum/ (Date website was queried)