''Tmesipteris'', the hanging fork ferns, is a genus of ferns, one of two genera in the family Psilotaceae, order Psilotales (the other being ''
Psilotum
''Psilotum'' is a genus of fern-like vascular plants. It is one of two genera in the family Psilotaceae commonly known as whisk ferns, the other being ''Tmesipteris''. Plants in these two genera were once thought to be descended from the earlies ...
'').
''Tmesipteris'' is restricted to certain lands in the Southern Pacific, notably
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 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 ...
and
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 ...
.
In New Zealand this hanging
epiphyte
An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphyt ...
is common in the warm temperate rain forests of both main islands, where it can normally be found as short spiky dark-green fronds (10–15 cm long), often with lighter bag-like
sporangia
A sporangium (from Late Latin, ; : sporangia) is an enclosure in which spores are formed. It can be composed of a unicellular organism, single cell or can be multicellular organism, multicellular. Virtually all plants, fungus, fungi, and many ot ...
at the bases of some of its "leaves". The plant possesses no true leaves; what appear to be leaves
are flattened stems. The fronds emerge directly from the fibrous root-mats which clad the trunks of mature tree ferns such as ''
Dicksonia
''Dicksonia'' is a genus of tree ferns in the order Cyatheales. It is regarded as related to '' Cyathea'', but is considered to retain more primitive traits, dating back at least to the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. The fossil record includes ...
'' and ''
Cyathea
''Cyathea'' is a genus of tree ferns, the type genus of the fern order Cyatheales.
The genus name ''Cyathea'' is derived from the Greek ''kyatheion'', meaning "little cup", and refers to the cup-shaped sori on the underside of the fronds.
...
''. ''Tmesipteris'' is from the Greek language, meaning a "cut fern", referring to the truncated leaf tips.
Species
Species include:
*''
Tmesipteris alticola''
Perrie & Brownsey
*''
Tmesipteris elongata''
P.A.Dang - Australia (
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India
* Victoria (state), a state of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital
* Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
and
Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
) and New Zealand (
North Island
The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...
,
South Island
The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...
,
Stewart Island
Stewart Island (, ' glowing skies', officially Stewart Island / Rakiura, formerly New Leinster) is New Zealand's third-largest island, located south of the South Island, across Foveaux Strait.
It is a roughly triangular island with a la ...
,
Chatham Islands
The Chatham Islands ( ; Moriori language, Moriori: , 'Misty Sun'; ) are an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about east of New Zealand's South Island, administered as part of New Zealand, and consisting of about 10 islands within an approxima ...
)
*''
Tmesipteris gracilis''
Chinnock 2003
*''
Tmesipteris horomaka''
Perrie, Brownsey & Lovis - New Zealand (
Banks Peninsula
Banks Peninsula () is a rocky peninsula on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand that was formed by two now-extinct volcanoes. It has an area of approximately . It includes two large deep-water harbours — Lyttelton Harbour a ...
)
[
*'' Tmesipteris lanceolata'' P.A.Dang. - New Caledonia and New Zealand (presumed extinct in ]Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
)[)
*'' Tmesipteris obliqua'' Chinnock (long fork-fern][)
*'' Tmesipteris oblongifolia'' A.F.Braithw. 1986
*'' Tmesipteris ovata'' N.A.Wakef. (oval fork-fern][)
*'' Tmesipteris parva'' N.A.Wakef. (small fork-fern][)
*'' Tmesipteris sigmatifolia'' Chinn. - New Caledonia and New Zealand][
*'' Tmesipteris solomonensis'' Braithwaite 1973
*'' Tmesipteris tannensis'' ( Spreng.) Bernh. - New Zealand]Tmesipteris truncata
''Tmesipteris truncata'' (aka ''Tmesipteris oblanceolata'') is a fern endemic to eastern Australia. It is commonly called a Fork Fern. The habitat of this primitive plant is under waterfalls, or in sandstone gullies or rainforests. It is often f ...
'' (R.Br.) Desv. - Australia (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 ...
and Queensland)
*'' Tmesipteris vanuatensis'' Braithwaite 1986
*'' Tmesipteris vieillardii'' P.A.Dang - New Caledonia[
*'' Tmesipteris zamorae'' Gruèzo & Amoroso, 2012 - Philippines
]
Phylogeny
Nitta et al. 2022 and Fern Tree of life
References
*''Bierhorst, D W (1977) The Systematic Position of Psilotum and Tmesipteris, Brittonia (New York Botanical Garden Press)''
*''Qiu, Y-L and Palmer, J (1999) Phylogeny of early land plants: insights from genes and genomes. Trends in Plant Science 4 (1), 26-30''
Psilotaceae
Epiphytes
Fern genera
{{fern-stub