Blechnum wattsii

Hard Water-fern

Common names by which the species may be called are:
- hard water fern - from its stiff leathery fronds
- leech fern - as forest workers often encounter leaches while working in clusters of these ferns
- hard hill fern - from the fern's habit and habitat
- red cabbage fern - from the bronze-pink colour of the young fronds resembling cooked red cabbage

Conservation status: common

Etymology:

From Latin blachnon, a fern, from Greek blēchnon
The specific epithet wattsii honours William Walter Watts (1856-1920)
Watts was considered an authority on mosses and ferns and has more than 30 species named for him

Spores:

Leaves:

Members of the family Blechnaceae exhibit distinctive dimorphic fertile and sterile fronds, which are easily identifiable
The mature sterile fronds are dark, dull green, and leathery and pinnate
Young sterile fronds are pink-bronze tinged until maturity
The pinnae are close together on a long stipe, with the lower pinnae only slightly shorter than the upper pinnae, and a long frond tip
The pinnae have a finely toothed margin, and are slightly stalked - not sessile
They exhibit conspicuous lateral veins, which are crowded and parallel
The fertile fronds are longer than the sterile fronds, and generally grow in the centre of the fern
Sori are continuous along the underside of each mid-vein and cover the majority of the underside of the frond
The pinnae are linear, long and coarse, with long membranous indusia which can be difficult to see in mature fronds

Stem & branches:

Roots:

Habit:

The mature plant can grow from 30 cm to 125 cm tall, with large erect fronds
The fern can spread horizontally using scaled rhizomes, which have a creeping, branched habit

Habitat:

Aa common terrestrial fern growing in rainforest and open forest
In Tasmania, it is widespread and abundant, ranging from sea level to 1000 m, in a range of vegetation types
It is found in many rainforests, and wet sclerophyll forests, preferring damp, shaded areas that are along creek and river beds, on the margins of water courses and waterfalls
This fern prefers a loam/sandy, well-drained soil rich in humus

Distribution:

Native to eastern Australia, LHI, New Zealand and the Society Islands (Tahiti)
Found in much of south eastern Australia, including Victoria, Tasmania (and King Island), South Australia, NSW and Queensland

Additional notes:

Reproduction and propagation
- Shows the typical life stages of a fern with distinct sporophyte and gametophyte stages
- A distinctive feature of the Blechnaceae is the presence of separate fertile and sterile, photosynthetic fronds
- The fertile frond produces numerous spores which are prolific and easily collected and propagated to mature plants
- It takes around 4–6 weeks for the prothallus to form, and another 6–12 months for the first true fern frond to develop
- Mature plants can also be divided from root stock, providing there is little disturbance to the parent rhizome
- Natural division through injury of the underground rhizome may also occur as the fern ages and degradation takes place
- Once propagated, P. wattsii requires moist sheltered and partially shaded conditions.t
Uses
- Propagated for use in large ferneries, beside shaded water areas, and sheltered gullies
- It is intolerant of drying out so it should be used in areas where water availability is adequate
- Aboriginal Australians also use the fern rhizomes for food, eating them raw or roasted as a source of starch

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