Blechnum cartilagineum
Gristle Fern at Fisher, ACT
Identify this sighting
| Blechnum cartilagineum | Tapirlord | 22 May 2025 | |
| Blechnum nudum | CarbonAI | 21 May 2025 | |
| Unverified | DavidMcKay | 21 May 2025 |
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3 comments
22 May 2025
I was surprised to see the fern in this place. It is in a small gully, but it appears generally a drier area and as the map shows, there is not much shade. Blechnum nudum is used as a garden plant and this spot is only a few hundred meters from adjacent suburbs. I assume spores could easily travel that far in a breeze.
22 May 2025
A known site for Gristle fern first recorded here in 2024. My suspicion is that this one germinated during the wet years and is now 'feeling the burn' of an urban nature reserve far away from its usual lush understory. I can't imagine that the plants persist here long.
27 May 2025
Oddly, B. cartilagineum has been recorded in the Black Mountain reserve, just off Belconnen Way, too. I found a specimen in a gully on Aranda Hill, under a fallen log, in a clear path below power lines. Also Polystichum proliferum in the same spot. This was back in the 1970s. A very hardy fern.
Location information
- Maps Mount Taylor
- Places Fisher, ACT
Sighting information
- 2 Abundance
- DavidMcKay Recorded by
Collections
- DavidMcKay NatureMapr Canberra & Southern Tablelands Blechnum cartilagineum Ferns and Clubmosses Plants
Species information
- Blechnum cartilagineum Scientific name
- Gristle Fern Common name
- Sensitive
- Rare or uncommon native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 1236.16m Recorded at altitude
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Synonyms
Oceaniopteris cartilaginea
Record quality
Quality score
5 / 7
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- Description
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