- Blechnum fluviatile
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Blechnum fluviatile 
Blechnum fluviatile (Māori: kiwikiwi) Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae Division: Pteridophyta Class: Pteridopsida Order: Athyriales Family: Blechnaceae Genus: Blechnum Species: B. fluviatile Binomial name Blechnum fluviatile
(R.Br.) Lowe ex SalomonBlechnum fluviatile is a fern known in the Māori language as kiwikiwi. A herbaceous plant, B. fluviatile is a "hard fern" of the Blechnum genus in the Blechnaceae family. It was identified by Patrick Brownsey in 1979.[1] Other common names are star fern, creek fern, kawakawa and kiwakiwa.[2][1]
Contents
Morphology
Ladderlike fronds of B. fluviatile measure up to 50 cm (20 in) long. Growing in a distinctive ground-hugging rosette shape, its fertile fronds – dark brown and spiky – stand upright from the centre, while the drooping sterile fronds with their nearly round leaflets, form the rosette.[2] As the parent plant ages it develops a short trunk central to a surrounding colony.
Range and ecology
The hardy B. fluviatile requires moist, shaded conditions for optimal growth. A small ground fern, the B. fluviatile is native to New Zealand and southeast Australia, a syntype common throughout the country in damp, shady areas in acidic, moist and boggy soil,[3] beside streams in forest areas.[2] This fern species occurs throughout much of New Zealand's forests, including much of the forested area of North Island; west, north and south coasts of South Island; and Stewart Island/Rakiura; moreover, it occurs in parts of the coastal forests of southeast Australia. Example understory flora associates in the mixed broadleaf/podocarp forests of Rakiura include Blechnum blechnoides and Blechnum durum.[4]
History
It was collected by William Colenso in December 1841, at the precise locality of woods near Poverty Bay in the North Island.[1]
References
- ^ a b c Blechnum fluviatile (R.Br.) Salomon; syntype of Lomaria rotundifolia Colenso - Collections Online - Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, NZ
- ^ a b c Blechnum fluviatile
- ^ BBC - Gardening - Plants - Plant Finder - Blechnum fluviatile 'Klwaklwak'
- ^ C. Michael Hogan. 2009. Crown Fern: Blechnum discolor, Globaltwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
B. arcuatum • B. blechnoides • B. brasiliense • B. chambersii • B. chilense • B. dendrophilum • B. discolor • B. durum • B. eburneum • B. filiforme • B. fluviatile • B. gibbum • B. magellanicum • B. monomorphum • B. penna-marina • B. petiolare • B. spicant • B. socialis • B. tabulareCategories:- Blechnum
- Fern species
- Ferns of New Zealand
- Flora of the Antipodes Islands
- Flora of New South Wales
- Flora of Victoria (Australia)
- Flora of Tasmania
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