''Lomaria discolor'',

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

''Blechnum discolor'', commonly called crown fern (

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

: piupiu), is a species of

fern The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

in the family

Blechnaceae Blechnaceae is a family of ferns in the order Polypodiales, with a cosmopolitan distribution. Its status as a family and the number of genera included have both varied considerably. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PP ...

. This species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. As noted by C. Michael Hogan, this species is found in a number of forest communities in diverse locations within New Zealand, and is sometimes a dominant understorey component. Spores are produced on specialised fronds. These are more erect, with a dark and shrivelled look.Andrew Crowe (1994). ''Which Native Fern?'', p. 39. Auckland: Viking. .

References

* C. Michael Hogan. 2009
''Crown Fern: Blechnum discolor'', Globaltwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
* Primitive Plants. 2009

Blechnaceae Endemic flora of New Zealand Ferns of New Zealand {{Polypodiales-stub