Schizaea rupestris

Schizaea rupestris is a small Australian fern. Most populations are in found in the ranges near Sydney. However, it also occurs near Woolgoolga[1] and Western Australia.[2]

Schizaea rupestris
fertile frond at Springwood, New South Wales, Australia
colony of ferns at Garigal National Park
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Schizaeales
Family: Schizaeaceae
Genus: Schizaea
Species:
S. rupestris
Binomial name
Schizaea rupestris

The fern is a mat-shaped plant from which arise slender upright fronds composed of a single unbranched blade. Infertile fronds are 5–12 cm high and 1–2.5 mm wide, while the rarer fertile fronds are 8–20 cm high. Thinner than the infertile fronds, the fertile fronds are topped with a tiny combed reproductive growth.[1] These are 3 to 16 mm long.[3]

Schizaea rupestris is found between Walpole and Torbay Hill in Western Australia, between latitudes 33° and 36°S in the Great Dividing Range in New South Wales.[3] A small grass-like plant, it often occurs in moist areas such as near waterfalls, or shaded areas of sandstone shelves or caves.[4]

The generic name Schizaea is from the Greek, meaning "to cleave or split", rupestris means near rocks.[5] It first appeared in scientific literature in the year 1810, in the Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen, published by the prolific Scottish botanist, Robert Brown.[6]

References
  1. Peter G. Wilson. "Schizaea rupestris R.Br". New South Wales Flora Online. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  2. Amanda Spooner. "Schizaea rupestris R.Br. Prodr. 162 (1810)". FloraBase, the Western Australian Flora. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  3. "Schizaea rupestris R.Br". Flora of Australia Online. Department of the Environment and Heritage, Australian Government.
  4. Fairley, Alan; Moore, Philip (2000). Native Plants of the Sydney District: An Identification Guide (2nd ed.). Kenthurst, New South Wales: Kangaroo Press. p. 31. ISBN 0-7318-1031-7.
  5. Les Robinson – Field Guide to the Native Plants of Sydney, ISBN 978-0-7318-1211-0 page 319
  6. Brown, Robert (1810). Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen (in Latin). London, United Kingdom: Richard Taylor and Company. p. 162.
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