''Polystichum australiense'', commonly known as the harsh shield fern is a plant found in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia. The genus name ''Polystichum'' is derived from Greek ''poly'' - many, and ''stichos -'' rows referring to the many rows of sori. The specific epithet refers to Australia. An unusual feature is the growth of

bulbil A bulbil (also referred to as a bulbel, bulblet, and/or pup) is a small, young plant that is reproduced vegetatively from axillary buds on the parent plant's stem or in place of a flower on an inflorescence. These young plants are clones of the p ...

s on end of the fronds. Sori are circular with a brown

indusium A sorus (: sori) is a cluster of sporangia (structures producing and containing spores) in ferns and fungi. A coenosorus (: coenosori) is a compound sorus composed of multiple, fused sori. Etymology This Neo-Latin word is from Ancient Greek � ...

, the stem is moderately scaly. Fronds are tough, having ultimate segments with distinctly aristate margins. Seen in warmer sites, unlike the related Polystichum proliferum which usually prefers mountain habitats. The

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wikt:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to ancho ...

was collected at

Garie Beach Garie Beach is a patrolled beach in the lower Royal National Park, on the outskirts of southern Sydney, southern Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. The beach is one of eleven beaches located within the Royal National Park and is the southern ...

, and first appeared in a botanic publication in 1954, authored by

Mary Tindale Mary Douglas Tindale (19 September 1920 – 31 March 2011) was an Australia Australian botanist. She was an Australian botanist specialising in pteridology (ferns) and the genera ''Acacia'' and ''Glycine''. She devoted her life to the study of f ...

References

australiense Ferns of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Plants described in 1954 {{Dryopteridaceae-stub