''Gleichenia dicarpa'', commonly known as pouched coral fern or tangle fern, is a small

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 ...

of the family

Gleicheniaceae The forked ferns are the family Gleicheniaceae, which includes six genera and about 160 known species. The formerly independent families Dicranopteridaceae and Stromatopteridaceae are generally included in the Gleicheniaceae, whereas the Dipteri ...

found in eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

and

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 ...

. It forms tangled thickets in wet places such as swamps and riverbanks.

Taxonomy

Collected by

Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English Natural history, naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the European and American voyages of scientific exploration, 1766 natural-history ...

and

Daniel Solander Daniel Carlsson Solander or Daniel Charles Solander (19 February 1733 – 13 May 1782) was a Sweden, Swedish naturalist and an Apostles of Linnaeus, apostle of Carl Linnaeus. Solander was the first university-educated scientist to set foot o ...

in November 1769 at Mercury Bay in

, ''G. dicarpa'' appeared in the 1810 work ''

Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae ''Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen'' (Prodromus of the Flora of New Holland and Van Diemen's Land) is a book by the botanist Robert Brown Robert Brown may refer to: Robert Brown (born 1965), British Director, Animator and ...

'', authored by prolific botanist

Robert Brown Robert Brown may refer to: Robert Brown (born 1965), British Director, Animator and author Entertainers and artists * Washboard Sam or Robert Brown (1910–1966), American musician and singer * Robert W. Brown (1917–2009), American printmaker ...

. Its genus name honours the German botanist W.F. von Gleichen, and its species name is

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

for "two fruit". Common names in New Zealand include tangle fern, Spider fern, and swamp umbrella fern. Australian common names include pouched coral fern, and wiry coral fern. The taxonomy of ''G. dicarpa'' is more complicated than previously thought; a genetic study of the DNA of Gleicheniaceae from New Zealand and Tasmania indicate that a smaller shorter-branched "upland" form from New Zealand is in fact more closely related to the Tasmanian '' G. alpina'' than to other New Zealand ''G. dicarpa''. Furthermore, '' G. microphylla'' is also nested within various populations of ''G. dicarpa''.

Description

''G. dicarpa'' consists of numerous fronds arising more or less vertically from a thin many branched

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and Shoot (botany), shoots from its Node (botany), nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from ...

. Each frond can reach 2 m (7 ft) in length with pinnae up to 4 cm (1.6 in) long. The smallest end-branches, known as ''pinnules'', are a mere 1 to 1.5 mm long and recurved margins that give them a cup- or pouch shape. In fertile fronds, two spores lie within the pouch. It is these pouches which give the fern its common name. The spores are yellowish and darken to black when ripe. Fronds growing in sunnier areas often have a bleached yellow coloration.

Distribution and habitat

''G. dicarpa'' is found throughout eastern Australia, from Queensland through New South Wales and Victoria and in Tasmania. It is widespread in Tasmania, where it is found up to altitudes of 900 m (3000 ft). It is widely distributed in New Zealand, where it is found on North, South and Stewart Islands, as well as the Chatham Islands. It is also found in New Caledonia. A common plant, often seen growing under waterfalls, in

peatlands A peatland is a type of wetland whose soils consist of Soil organic matter, organic matter from decaying plants, forming layers of peat. Peatlands arise because of incomplete decomposition of organic matter, usually litter from vegetation, du ...

, under cliffs and in tall open forest. It can grow in nutrient poor conditions, preferring high humidity and good levels of sunshine and moisture. Its tangled roots collect detritus and prevent erosion. It can also be a

pioneer species Pioneer species are resilient species that are the first to colonize barren environments, or to repopulate disrupted biodiverse steady-state ecosystems as part of ecological succession. Various kinds of events can create good conditions for pi ...

of disturbed ground.

Cultivation

Although not commercially available, ''G. dicarpa'' can be readily propagated from spores, and grows as long as it is not allowed to dry out and is not otherwise disturbed. It prefers acidic soil and sunny aspect.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5567509 dicarpa Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of Tasmania Flora of Victoria (state) Ferns of New Zealand Plants described in 1810 Pakihi