Pteris vittata
Common names
ladder brake, Chinese brake
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Ferns
Detailed description
Terrestrial or lithophytic ferns. Rhizome short-creeping; scale numerous, conspicuous, c. 5 mm long, narrowly triangular, pale brown. Fronds monomorphic, arching, appearing to radiate from a crown. Stipe 20–250 mm long, pale brown, grooved, scaly towards base. Lamina 0.15–0.8 × 0.05–0.3 m, 1-pinnate, oblong-obovate. Pinnae to 250 mm long, closely spaced, decreasing in length from apex to base, narrowly oblong, ± falcate, and tapering above to an acute apex, base subcordate, ± overlying rachis; margins finely serrate in sterile zones; most pinnae attached by midrib only. Lowermost pinnae distinctly shorter, deltoid to cordate; terminal pinna longest, veins free set at ± 90° to costa, simple or forked once, paraphyses abundant.
Similar taxa
Distinguished from all other Pteris indigenous and naturalised in New Zealand except P. cretica by the free veins of the laminae and the basally 1–2-pinnate fronds. From the naturalised P. cretica it is distinguished by the undivided basal pinnae, much narrow fronds whose pinna decrease in length from the the apex to the base, and by the distinctly longer terminal pinna. Most likely to be confused with species of Blechnum from which it is easily separated by the absence of separate sterile and fertile frond types, i.e. the fertile fronds like the same as the sterile ones.
Distribution
Indigenous? New Zealand: North Island (Bay of Plenty—in geothermal areas, especially along the shores of Lake Rotomahana—however, also reported as naturalised from Auckland City and Napier). Also present in Australia, Norfolk Island (where it may be indigenous but is currently regarded as naturalised—see de Lange et al. 2005), and throughout the tropical to warm temperate parts of the Old World.
Habitat
On base rich rocks such as limestone, basalt, and also concrete. All recent records are urban but previously was reported from the margins of a geothermal spring (Tarawera Springs)
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 Evaluated
Threats
Unknown. If this species was truly present at the Tarawera Springs it has now gone extinct there but it is abundant around the hot springs of Lake Rotomahana, and it is still locally present in Auckland and Napier—where it may have established from garden plants.
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Synonyms
Pteris longifolia var. brevipinnia Domin
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Propagation technique
Easily grown from spore and readily self-establishes. Prefers a free draining, sunny situation. Does best on limestone or basalt rock walls.
Other information
Cultivation
Occasionally available from commercial nurseries. However commercial stock is of unknown origin (it is unlikely to be from New Zealand sources).
Status notes
Pteris vittata was first recorded from New Zealand in the mid 1800s by Government Botanist John Buchanan from the Tarawera Hot Springs (C.E. Ecroyd pers. comm.). However, that record is not substantiated by a herbarium specimen and it has not been seen there on recent surveys. In the case of Buchanan this is not unusual as many of his herbarium specimens were lost as a result of his often erratic collecting and curatorial habitats, and the way the herbarium he maintained for James Hector (now known as WELT—the herbarium of Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand) was then maintained (Adams 2002). Subsequently Pteris vittata was discovered as a probable weed in Auckland City (Cameron & Parris 1998) and later again in similar circumstances in Napier (Cameron 1999). Because Pteris vittata has been bought into New Zealand through the nursery trade and is occasionally cultivated, the conclusions reached by Cameron & Parris (1998) and Heenan et al. (1999) are logical. Nevertheless at that time, the Pteris was not known to be so common around geothermal sites in the Rotorua district. Some pteridologists (J.E. Braggins pers. comm.) believe that Pteris vittata could have easily self-established from Australia (where it is common) and they see no reason why this fern could not be both indigenous (i.e. those populations in the Rotorua geothermal field) from an earlier dispersal event (if, of course Buchanan’s observations were correct this may be the case) and more recently naturalised from the horticultural trade. This problem could be resolved by using DNA fingerprinting techniques to determine if the wild populations in the Rotorua geothermal field are distinct from those lines known to have been bought into New Zealand. Such a study would however be rather expensive requiring a critical sampling of overseas populations as well. Irrespective of these issues the species was listed as a Coloniser by de Lange et al. (2009) on the basis of a submission made by C.E. Ecroyd. However, it was assessed to be Introduced and Naturalised by de Lange et al. (2013) and it retained that status in 2017 (de Lange et al. 2018).
Etymology
pteris: A fern known to the ancient Greeks; from the Greek pteris
vittata: From the Latin vitta ‘stripe, band’, meaning longitudinal stripes of one colour across another
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 | Introduced and Naturalised
2009 | Non-resident Native – Coloniser
2004 | Not Threatened
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Adams NM. 2002. John Buchanan F.L.S. botanist and artist (1819–1898). Tuhinga 13: 71–115.
de Lange PJ, Gardner RO, Sykes WR, Crowcroft GM, Cameron EK, Stalker F, Christian ML, Braggins JE. 2005. Vascular flora of Norfolk Island: some additions and taxonomic notes. New Zealand Journal of Botany 43(4): 563–596. https://doi.org/10.1080/0028825X.2005.9512975.
de Lange PJ, Norton DA, Courtney SP, Heenan PB, Barkla JW, Cameron EK, Hitchmough RA, Townsend AJ. 2009. Threatened and uncommon plants of New Zealand (2008 revision). New Zealand Journal of Botany 47(1): 61–96. https://doi.org/10.1080/00288250909509794.
de Lange PJ, Rolfe JR, Barkla JW, Courtney SP, Champion PD, Perrie LR, Beadel SM, Ford KA, Breitwieser I, Schonberger I, Hindmarsh-Walls R, Heenan PB, Ladley K. 2018. Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2017. New Zealand Threat Classification Series 22. Department of Conservation, Wellington, NZ. 82 p. https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets/documents/science-and-technical/nztcs22entire.pdf
de Lange PJ, Rolfe JR, Champion PD, Courtney SP, Heenan PB, Barkla JW, Cameron EK, Norton DA, Hitchmough RA. 2013. Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2012. New Zealand Threat Classification Series 3. Department of Conservation, Wellington, NZ. 70 p. https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets/documents/science-and-technical/nztcs3entire.pdf
Kramer KU, McCarthy PM. 1998. Pteridiaceae. Flora of Australia 48, Ferns Gymnosperms and allied groups: 241–248. ABRS/CSIRO Victoria, Australia.
Cameron EK, Parris BS. 1998. Pteris vittata L. – a new naturalised fern. New Zealand Botanical Society Newsletter 51: 9–10.
Cameron EK. 1999. Chinese brake (Pteris vittata) – an update. New Zealand Botanical Society Newsletter 56: 16–17.
Heenan PB, de Lange PJ, Glenny DS, Breitwieser I, Brownsey PJ, Ogle CC. 1999. Checklist of dicotyledons, gymnosperms, and pteridophytes naturalised or casual in New Zealand: additional records 1997–1998. New Zealand Journal of Botany 37(4): 629–642. https://doi.org/10.1080/0028825X.1999.9512658.
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange (18 January 2012). Description adapted from Kramer & McCarthy (1998).
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Pteris vittata Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/pteris-vittata/ (Date website was queried)