Dicksonia lanata

Dicksonia lanata is a fern endemic to New Zealand.[3] Colloquial names include stumpy tree fern, tūākura and tūōkura.

Dicksonia lanata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Cyatheales
Family: Dicksoniaceae
Genus: Dicksonia
Species:
D. lanata
Binomial name
Dicksonia lanata

Dicksonia lanata can be easily distinguished from the other Dicksonia species indigenous to New Zealand by its long, green or light brown stipes (the frond stalks).[3] Dicksonia squarrosa has dark brown stipes; D. fibrosa has very short stipes.

There are two subspecies.

Subspecies

Dicksonia lanata subsp. lanata is unusual among tree ferns in lacking a trunk. It occurs in higher areas of the North Island from Coromandel Peninsula southwards, although it is uncommon in the southern North Island. It also occurs in the northern and western South Island. In addition to the absence of a trunk, subsp. lanata can be recognised by the prominent tufts of woolly hairs at the vein junctions on the underside of its fronds.[3]

Dicksonia lanata subsp. hispida (Colenso) Perrie & Brownsey occurs in the northern North Island, from the Kaipara Harbour northwards, as well as Great Barrier Island. It has a trunk up to 2 m tall, and its frond undersides lack the prominent tufts of woolly hairs found in subsp. lanata. Subspecies hispida is often associated with kauri forests.[3] These northern plants were initially described by William Colenso in 1844 as a variety, but this was raised to subspecies rank in 2014.[4]

Habit

Dicksonia lanata subsp. lanata is stoloniferous, and subsp. hispida probably is as well.[3] Both can occur in large, tangled colonies, particularly subsp. lanata, which can dominate the ground cover over large areas, especially in the axial mountain ranges of the central-eastern North Island (Urewera, Kaimanawa, Kaweka, Ruahine).

References
  1. "NZOR Name Details - Dicksonia lanata Colenso ex Hook". www.nzor.org.nz. Retrieved 2019-12-24.
  2. Colenso, W. (1845) A Classification and description of some newly discovered ferns, collected in the northern island of New Zealand, in the summer of 1841-42. Tasmanian Journal of Natural Science, Agriculture, Statistics, etc 2(8): 181
  3. Brownsey, Pat; Perrie, Leon (2015). Dicksoniaceae (PDF). Fascicle 11. Flora of New Zealand - Ferns and Lycophytes. Lincoln: Manaaki Whenua Press. ISBN 978-0-478-34780-7.
  4. Brownsey, P. J.; Perrie, L. R. (2014-07-03). "Taxonomic notes on the New Zealand flora: recognition of two subspecies in Dicksonia lanata". New Zealand Journal of Botany. 52 (3): 343–351. doi:10.1080/0028825X.2014.928331. ISSN 0028-825X.
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