Notogrammitis rawlingsii
Common names
Rawlings’s strapfern
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Ferns
Detailed description
Terrestrial, rupestral (or rarely a low epiphyte) fern. Rhizome short-creeping; paleae pale brown, lanceolate, acute to broadly acute, 4.0–4.5 × 1.0 mm. Stipe indistinct, winged nearly to base; stipe hairs whitish, sparse to common, to 1.5 mm long. Lamina linear-oblanceolate, acute, (103)–104–137–(143) × (4)–4.5–5.5–(6) mm; hairs around and within the sori dark red-brown, stout, sometimes hooked, common to abundant, to 0.5 mm long; lamina hairs elsewhere rare, on margins and midrib, reddish brown, to 0.4 mm; texture thinly coriaceous; veins invisible, endings not darkened; midrib raised on lower surface, concolorous with lamina. Sori oblong, oblique, in upper half of frond, 12–22 pairs, 3–5 × 1 mm; soral vein ending within sorus or extending a little beyond it, shorter than basiscopic vein, neither usually reaching margin. Sporangia (160)–163.6–203.0–(210) μm long; indurated cells of annulus (10)–10.8–13.6–(14). Spores (23)–23.3–25.9–(27) μm diameter.
Similar taxa
Perhaps most frequently confused with Notogrammitis billardierei, which is superficially similar in that it has linear to narrowly elliptic fronds with blunt apices. However, the sori of Notogrammitis billardierei are glabrous lacking the encircling red-brown hairs diagnostic of N. rawlingsii.
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: North Island (from Herekino and Puketi Forests south to the Coromandel Peninsula (Waikawau Bay), upper Kauaeranga Valley and Mt Pirongia. Locally common around Warkworth and in some kauri remnants in North Shore, Auckland), Te Hauturu-o-Toi / Little Barrier Island, Great Barrier Island (Aotea Island).
Habitat
This species is characteristically associated with kauri (Agathis australis) forest, or forest remnants, where it invariably grows amongst mosses, on rotting logs, exposed roots or as a low epiphyte.
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: Sp
Threats
Although this species is now recognised as being more widespread than when it was first described in the 1970s, it is still rather local, and surprisingly absent from some areas of seemingly suitable habitat (e.g., the Waitakere Ranges). As a rule populations tend to be very localised and small so this species is especially prone to over collection by zealous fern hunters and botanists. The species is now very close to extinction at its type locality at Waipoua, and there is some evidence that this has arisen because of illegal fern collection, though gradual drying out of the forest may also be responsible (B.S. Parris pers. comm.).
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Synonyms
Grammitis rawlingsii Parris
Taxonomic notes
The New Zealand species of Grammitis along with Ctenopteris heterophylla and one Australian Grammitis (G. garrettii) one Lord Howe (G. diminuta) and one species endemic to the Moluccas and Indonesian (G. kairatuensis) have traditionally been placed in Grammitis (Parris & Given 1976; Parris 1998). However, these species (with the exception of G. diminuta, G. kairatuensis and G. stenophylla; B.S.Parris pers. comm. to P.J. de Lange January 2011) have been transferred to a new genus, Notogrammitis Parris (Perrie & Parris 2012).
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
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
notogrammitis: From the Greek noto- ‘southern’ and gramma ‘line’, referring to this new genus of southern strap ferns which were previously in Grammitis.
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.
NOTRAW
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: Sp
2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: Sp
2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon
2004 | Sparse
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Parris BS. 1998. Grammitidaceae. Flora of Australia 48, Ferns Gymnosperms and allied groups: 450–468. ABRS/CSIRO Victoria, Australia.
Parris BS, Given DR. 1976. A taxonomic revision of Grammitis Sw. (Grammitidaceae: Filicales) in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 14(1): 85–111. https://doi.org/10.1080/0028825X.1976.10428655.
Perrie LR, Parris BS. 2012. Chloroplast DNA sequences indicate the grammitid ferns (Polypodiaceae) in New Zealand belong to a single clade, Notogrammitis gen. nov. New Zealand Journal of Botany 50(4): 457–472. https://doi.org/10.1080/0028825X.2012.735247.
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 (January 2005). Description from Parris & Given (1976).
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Notogrammitis rawlingsii Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/notogrammitis-rawlingsii/ (Date website was queried)