Marattia salicina
Encyclopedia
Ptisana salicina, or king fern, is a species of fern
native to Australia
and the South Pacific
. Large and robust with a distinctive tropical appearance, it has fronds up to 5 metres (16 feet +/-) tall that arise from a starchy base that was a traditional food for the Maori. It has several other common names including para, tawhiti-para, and horseshoe fern.
(the type locality), New Zealand, New Caledonia
, Cook Islands
, Austral Islands
, Society Islands
and the Marquesas. In New Zealand it is found in lowland areas on the north-western half of the North Island from inland Wanganui
northwards. It is most abundant in the western Waikato, where it is found in forests and forest remnants. It prefers limestone-rich soils, including the entrances to caves entrance and tomo shafts and shady stream sides. It often grows in association with parataniwha (Elatostema rugosum) and supplejack (Ripogonum scandens).
areas. Another serious threat comes from plant collectors who are said to have wiped out several large populations in the Kawhia
district.
Fern
A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...
native to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and the South Pacific
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
. Large and robust with a distinctive tropical appearance, it has fronds up to 5 metres (16 feet +/-) tall that arise from a starchy base that was a traditional food for the Maori. It has several other common names including para, tawhiti-para, and horseshoe fern.
Distribution
King fern is indigenous to Norfolk IslandNorfolk Island
Norfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. The island is part of the Commonwealth of Australia, but it enjoys a large degree of self-governance...
(the type locality), New Zealand, New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
, Cook Islands
Cook Islands
The Cook Islands is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand...
, Austral Islands
Austral Islands
The Austral Islands are the southernmost group of islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the South Pacific. Geographically, they consist of two separate archipelagos, namely in the northwest the Tubuai Islands consisting of the Îles Maria, Rimatara, Rurutu, Tubuai...
, Society Islands
Society Islands
The Society Islands are a group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean. They are politically part of French Polynesia. The archipelago is generally believed to have been named by Captain James Cook in honor of the Royal Society, the sponsor of the first British scientific survey of the islands;...
and the Marquesas. In New Zealand it is found in lowland areas on the north-western half of the North Island from inland Wanganui
Wanganui
Whanganui , also spelled Wanganui, is an urban area and district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is part of the Manawatu-Wanganui region....
northwards. It is most abundant in the western Waikato, where it is found in forests and forest remnants. It prefers limestone-rich soils, including the entrances to caves entrance and tomo shafts and shady stream sides. It often grows in association with parataniwha (Elatostema rugosum) and supplejack (Ripogonum scandens).
Threats
King fern is in serious decline, seriously threatened throughout its range by feral and domestic cattle, wild pigs and goats. Large plants no longer exist except in areas where there has been rigorous control of animals, or in inaccessible cave entrances or steep-sided gorges in karstKarst topography
Karst topography is a geologic formation shaped by the dissolution of a layer or layers of soluble bedrock, usually carbonate rock such as limestone or dolomite, but has also been documented for weathering resistant rocks like quartzite given the right conditions.Due to subterranean drainage, there...
areas. Another serious threat comes from plant collectors who are said to have wiped out several large populations in the Kawhia
Kawhia Harbour
Kawhia Harbour is one of three large natural inlets in the Tasman Sea coast of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located to the south of Raglan Harbour, Ruapuke and Aotea Harbour, 40 kilometres southwest of Hamilton...
district.
Description
The green cane-like leaf stalks are 1 to 3 metres long. The young fronds are protected as they uncoil by a large ear-shaped basal lobe at the base. The glossy, dark green fronds are 4 metres, sometimes 5 metres long and 2 metres wide. The juvenile fronds are less robust, and wilt quickly if exposed to sunlight. In the Kawhia area, a distinctive form is sometimes encountered, which has crested tips on the adult leaflets. Specimens of suitable age may produce spores at any time in the year.Propagation
Propagation is difficult. King fern can be grown from spores, but this is extremely slow. It is sometimes offered for sale in nurseries that specialise in native plants.See also
- Marattia purpurascensMarattia purpurascensPtisana purpurascens is a large fern belonging to the botanical family Marattiaceae. It has a globular rhizome with stipule-like fleshy outgrowths. The leaves are dark green, twice pinnate and up to 1 metre long. Every pinnule has up to six pairs of leaflets. The petioles are dark-purplish, hence...
from Ascension IslandAscension IslandAscension Island is an isolated volcanic island in the equatorial waters of the South Atlantic Ocean, around from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America, which is roughly midway between the horn of South America and Africa...
. - Danaea kalevalaDanaea kalevalaDanaea kalevala is a species of fern belonging to the family Marattiaceae. It is endemic to rainforests of the Lesser Antilles islands in the Caribbean....
, a related plant from the Caribbean and boto.