Diplazium australe

Location & distribution maps

Phylogeny & links to associated information

Wikipedia links:       Monilophytes > Polypodiales > Woodsiaceae > Diplazium australe

Other links:    

Plant  information

Common name:         Australian Lady Fern

• Also, Austral Lady Fern 

Conservation status: ...

Etymology:   

• From the Greek diplasios (double), a reference to the paired sori in these ferns

• From Greek diplasios 'double', referring to the double coating over the spores 

• Australe is from  the Latin australis meaning southern

Spores:                            

•  Sori 1–2 mm long, 3–5 per pinnule, mostly single

• Indusium pale brown, fragile

Leaves:         

• The leaves are soft, pale green broadly triangular, 2–3 times divided fronds, to 1 m wide. 

• Segments stalked, final segments lobed or divided, margins with rounded teeth

• Fronds arcuate (with a sharp point)

• Fronds almost erect, mostly 0.4–1.2 m long, sometimes to 2 m

• Fronds are glabrous, membranous, brittle, dark green, with rachis grooves that open at junctions with pinna midrib grooves

• Stipe stout and fleshy, dark at the base, paler above

• Stipe 24–80 cm long, black and scaly at the base, deeply 3-grooved

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• Secondary rachises not much darker at their junction with the main rachis

• Lamina 2-pinnate with secondary pinnae lobed almost to mid-vein

• Lamina 3-pinnate, 30–120 cm long, broadly triangular, 20–90 cm wide, membranous, brittle, dark green

• Pinnules oblong, 5–25 mm long, 2–10 mm wide; base broadly attached to the axis; margins bluntly toothed or shallowly lobed less than half-way to the costule, decurrent on the lower side; apex obtuse

• Ultimate segments 5–25 mm long, toothed

• Grooves in main and side midribs flow together, forming ridges at junction

• Stem half length of frond 

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• Leaves clustered; petiole fleshy, 6–13 cm long, 1.5-2.5 cm thick, light green, base densely covered with the same scales as those on rhizomes, upwards and leaves are sparsely covered with small brown-brown star-shaped scales, later part sheddin

• The leaves are linear-lanceolate, 15–30 cm long, 4–7 cm wide, with a pointed tail, bipinnate; pinnae 20-35 pairs, 1-1.5 cm apart, opposite, or only at base, alternate upward, nearly spreading, sessile, slightly sparse from each other, lower pinna slightly shortened, middle pinna 2.5–4 cm long, 7–8 mm wide, linear, slightly Sickle-shaped, blunt or round head, base is slightly oblique circular truncation, slightly asymmetric, upper side close to leaf axis, pinnate; pinnae 10–16 pairs, alternate or subopposite, obliquely spread, each other Closely connected, linear, more or less upwardly curved, 3–4.5 mm long, 1.5 mm wide, rounded or blunt, base connate with rachis and connected by broad wings, entire, base paired or only the upper side is often doubled To three-lobed, the lobes are the same shape as the pinnae and much shorter

• The veins of the leaves are obvious and raised above, but not visible below. Each pinnae has one small vein, which does not reach the leaf edge

• The leaves are nearly succulent, grass green when dry, densely covered with brown-brown star-shaped small scales when they are young, then gradually become smooth on the top, and one or two pieces remain on the bottom

• The top is raised, with broad wings on both sides, all sparsely covered with one or two small scales

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• Stipe 150–800 mm long, deeply 3-grooved, black and scaly at the base. 3-pinnate, widely deltoid lamina, 0.25–1.2 0.2–0.9 m 

• Pinnules are 5-252-10 mm long, rectangular, and have a wide base connected to the axis

• The edges are bluntly serrated or shallowly lobed less than half-way to the costule, abaxially decurrent, and the apex is obtuse

Stem & branches: 

• Rhizome up to 80 mm long

• Erect, sometimes forming a short trunk, covered with dull black scales

• Apex densely covered with scales

• Scales lanceolate, 7–9 mm long, brownish-brown, with brown narrow margins, glossy, thick membranous, margins with small teeth

Roots:         

• A fibrous structure that does not perform photosynthesis and absorbs water and nutrients from the soil

Habit:        

• Tufted ferns on the ground (often deciduous in cooler areas

• It's terrestrial in shaded gullies in wet sclerophyll forest and rainforest 

Habitat:   

• Moist shaded areas, often occurring in rainforest

Distribution:                  

• A small fern occurring in eastern Australia, New Zealand and Norfolk Island

• Wet Tropics and subtropical and temperate eastern Australia

• Eastern Queensland, eastern NSW, southern Victoria, and Tasmania

Additional notes:     

• Identification

  • Diplazium australe is occasionally confused with Deparia petersenii subsp. congrua, with which it shares a lot of space, partially because both Diplazium and Deparia contain sori that are organized in a herringbone pattern, which can also be mistaken for Asplenium

  • The sori, which are paired back-to-back along the veins, distinguish Diplazium and Deparia from Asplenium

  • Diplazium differs from Deparia in that its fronds are considerably bigger, more divided, and glabrous, and the rachis groove is open and confluent with the grooves of the pinna midribs (rather than being closed at junctions with pinna midrib grooves).

• Cultivation

  • From spores and rooted bits, it's simple

  • It grows quickly and is prone to becoming weedy

  • It prefers a shady location, but may grow in broad sun if planted in constantly humid soil

  • During the winter, it dies down to the rhizome in the colder sections of the nation

  • Diplazium australe is not of immediate economic importance and is generally used as a biofertilizer because its nitrogen-fixing ability converts nitrogen from the air into compounds that other plants can use

  • Diplazium australe can also be used as a raw material for anthelmintics, and in some areas is used as a food source by indigenous societies

  • In addition to their economical role, Diplazium australe have certain aesthetic value, they can be used in garden design, in the production of handicrafts, often as painting elements and decorative elements

  • In some cases, the value provided by Diplazium australe is negative

  • For example, in the plantation industry, Diplazium australe is a weed whose ability to absorb nutrients from the soil is much higher than that of agricultural crops, and is usually processed in batches.

Sources of information:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diplazium_australe (2023)