Cheilanthes sieberi

Rock Fern at Isaacs, ACT

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Identification history

Cheilanthes sieberi	26 Jan 2015	dcnicholls
Cheilanthes sieberi	26 Jan 2015	MichaelMulvaney
Unidentified	25 Jan 2015	Mike

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5 comments

dcnicholls wrote:

27 Jan 2015

The dry area form of C. austrotenuifolia is always hard to distinguish from C. sieberi but the short fronds on this look like C. sieberi

AaronClausen wrote:

27 Jan 2015

I was wondering how to tell the difference as well David.

dcnicholls wrote:

27 Jan 2015

There has long been a debate over whether they are separate species. C. austrotenuifolia (aka C. tenuifolia) given reasonable moisture and shade will always develop large lacy fronds. In dry areas, the fronds tend to be quite curly. C. sieberi often look a bit like longer frond versions of C.distans, but without the pale woolly hairs. They almost certainly all hybridise, making identification a nightmare.

MichaelMulvaney wrote:

28 Jan 2015

Thanks David, perhaps mistakingly I have also thought that the fronds of C. austrotenifolia have a Christmas tree shape, in addition to their large size, while those of sieberi are more oblong in shape. Is this a valid ID tool or not? Cheers Michael

dcnicholls wrote:

28 Jan 2015

Michael, Yes, that's a good indicator for C. austrotenuifolia when it's in a moist environment, but it tends to shrivel up in drier areas. It's the probable hybrids that cause the problems.

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