Plants
Ferns and Clubmosses
Sighting 1946679

Asplenium trichomanes

Common Spleenwort at Oaks Estate, ACT

Asplenium trichomanes at Oaks Estate, ACT - 23 Sep 2015
Asplenium trichomanes at Oaks Estate, ACT - 23 Sep 2015
Asplenium trichomanes at Oaks Estate, ACT - 23 Sep 2015
Asplenium trichomanes at Oaks Estate, ACT - 23 Sep 2015
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Identification history

Asplenium trichomanes 3 Oct 2015 dcnicholls
Asplenium flabellifolium 3 Oct 2015 MichaelMulvaney
Unidentified 26 Sep 2015 FranM

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Significant sighting

MichaelMulvaney noted:

6 Oct 2015

Thanks Fran - This is only the 12th location of this fern recorded in the ACT, and most of the records are from before 1990 in Namadgi

6 comments

FranM wrote:
   3 Oct 2015
Michael, This fern is more rigid than Asplenium flabellifolium which I did see elsewhere in the Gorge. Also, the pinnae are not quite the right shape that.
dcnicholls wrote:
   3 Oct 2015
No, not A. flabellifolium, definitely A. trichomanes. Much rarer. I have only found this in the past at the Cotter Cave (growing on the limestone) and on the banks of the Cotter River just below Bendora Dam. Excellent find!
dcnicholls wrote:
   3 Oct 2015
Max Gray once told me that A. trichomanes preferred alkaline environments, hence the Cotter Cave limestone find. But that's not universally true. I wonder what the rock is in the photo.
AaronClausen wrote:
   4 Oct 2015
Wonderful sighting Fran, I have wanted to see this species in person for a long time. Very cool!
FranM wrote:
   7 Oct 2015
Re the rock, I consulted Brad Pillans who advised that rocks in the area are "interbedded sandstone, siltstone, shale and minor black shale, chert and impure calcareous sandstone.The critical part of the description is 'impure calcareous sandstone' - calcareous means it contains calcium carbonate, which is what limestone is made of. Conclusion - the rocks where the fern occurs could well be calcareous...".
dcnicholls wrote:
   7 Oct 2015
Sounds right on the button

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