Common name: Strap Water Fern
Blechnum patersonii (R.Br.) Mett. APNI* 
Description: Rhizome erect, scales of rhizome broad, brown, shiny.
Fronds erect to pendent, dimorphic, simple or deeply lobed (often mixed on the same plant), mostly 20–50 cm high, fertile usually slightly shorter than the sterile. Sterile fronds or segments mostly 10–25 mm wide, broader towards apex, dark green and leathery. Fertile fronds or segments 2–4 mm wide.
Distribution and occurrence: Forming clumps. Found often along creeks or in rock crevices; widespread in rainforest and in moist gullies.
NSW subdivisions: NC, CC, SC, NT, CT, ST, CWS, LHI
Other Australian states: Qld Vic. Tas.
Text by Peter G. Wilson
Taxon concept:
| | Key to the subspecies | |
| 1 | Fronds usually simple, sometimes pinnate or pinnatisect; lamina flexible and papery in fresh material; in dried material, lamina margins usually not revolute, margins regularly toothed (run finger along margin to feel teeth), or sometimes crenate. | subsp. patersonii |
| Fronds usually pinnatisect or pinnate, sometimes simple; lamina brittle, fleshy almost succulent in fresh material; in dried material, lamina with thin marginal tissue either with entire or very finely toothed margins, usually finely revolute. | subsp. queenslandicum |
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
|
