Plants
Ferns and Clubmosses
Sighting 32571

Cheilanthes sieberi

Rock Fern at Isaacs, ACT

Cheilanthes sieberi at Isaacs, ACT - 20 Jan 2015 09:04 AM
Cheilanthes sieberi at Isaacs, ACT - 20 Jan 2015 09:04 AM
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Identification history

Cheilanthes sieberi 26 Jan 2015 dcnicholls
Cheilanthes sieberi 26 Jan 2015 MichaelMulvaney
Unverified 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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Location information

Sighting information

Species information

  • Cheilanthes sieberi Scientific name
  • Rock Fern Common name
  • Not Sensitive
  • Local native
  • Non-invasive or negligible
  • Up to 1175.7m Recorded at altitude
  • 109 images trained Machine learning
  • External link More information
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