Great! I’ve found another uncommon fern. It’s hardly fair with the Bird’s nest fern though, it stands out from most other plants in the bush with it’s bright yellow-green fronds and it’s distictive rosette habit.
This one was growing on the edge of a sandstone cliff in the bush out the back.
more info:
Yet another Coral Fern! Along with the Pouched Coral Fern ( Gleichenia dicarpa ) and Gleichenia rupestris the G. microphylla compleats the entire set of coral Ferns found in Sydney, acording to NPOS anyway.
G. microphylla has features of both G. rupestris and G. dicarpa. It had very fine small fronds that are a deep green colour and convex on the top like G. dicarpa. But on the undersidethey are flat or just slightly concave like G. rupestris.
I fond this specimen growing on the side of a damp sandstone cliff at the back of the house. There was some G. dicarpa growing there too. G. microphylla is meant to be uncommon in the area so I’m happy to have found it so close by.
more info:
This coral fern was helpfully marked on the Mueller track in the wildflower gardens. It was growing on sandstone near the base of a small cliff. The species wasn’t indicated, but from the description in NPOS I think it’s Gleichenia rupestris. The fronds are flat on the underside and are larger and flatter than the pouched coral fern, the stalks are hairless.
more info:
Everyone except me ( neighbors, mum ) seemed to know all about the fishbone fern. Even though it’s a native to Australia where it naturally occurs in Queensland and Northern NSW, it’s considered a weed in Sydney. It does tend to take over parts of the garden, especially places I’ve cleared of other weeds.
The plant sketches in NPOS are usually very good, but for the Fishbone Fern I didn’t think it looked like the plant I saw. I checked a few other sources to make sure I had the right plant.
I’ll be cutting this back in the garden.
more info: