Grammitis billardierei

Finger Fern
Finger Fern in the rainforest below the summit of Mount Imlay, Australia The pale green plants are moss
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Pteridophyta
Class:	Polypodiopsida/Pteridopsida (disputed)
Order:	Polypodiales
Family:	Polypodiaceae
Genus:	Grammitis
Species:	G. billardierei
Binomial name
Grammitis billardierei Willdenow
Synonyms
Grammitis australis Grammitis billardieri Grammitis meridionalis Polypodium billardierei

Grammitis billardierei, the Common Finger-fern or Strap Fern is a small fern growing in high rainfall areas of south east Australia and in New Zealand. A common plant, growing on branches, logs or on rocks in and near rainforest.^[1]

Strap-like leaves are 5 to 15 cm long, and up to 10 mm wide. Occasionally broader at the end than at the base of the frond. The sporangia are grouped into sori, which grow on the underside of the frond, in irregular patterns. The sori are not round, as in many grammitids, but long and thin.

Willdenow named this species for the French naturalist Jacques Labillardière.

It is not part of Grammitis as that genus is now circumscribed, and will be assigned to another genus after further study.^[2]

References

1. ^ Barbara S. Parris. 1998. "Grammitidaceae" pages 450-468. In: Anthony E. Orchard (executive editor) and Patrick M. McCarthy (volume editor). Flora of Australia volume 48, Ferns, Gymnosperms, and Allied Groups. ABRS/CSIRO: Melbourne, Australia.
2. ^ Michael A. Sundue, Melissa Islam, and Tom A. Ranker. 2010. (in press). Systematic Botany

External links

• Grammitis billardierei At: Grammitidaceae At: Plant Name Search At: Introduction At: PlantNET At: Plant databases At: Botanic Gardens Trust, Sydney