Scientific Name: Lastreopsis hispida

Common Name: bristly shieldfern

Family Classification (Clade): Pteridophytes

Family: Dryopteridaceae

Form Description: Fern with fronds, up to 90cm long, erect, finely divided, dark green, thin but harsh, tri-pinnate or quadri-pinnate, ult. segments narrow, pointed.

Municipality
Break O’DayBurnieDerwent ValleyWaratah-WynyardWest CoastWest Tamar
Plant Communities
Rainforest
Habitat Notes

Uncommon in Tasmania, occurring in rainforest in the west and north-west. Grows in dark, moist sheltered habitats close to running water. Occurs from sea-level to 200m (rarely 300m). Grows on gravelly soil or on rocks and logs, occasionally as an epiphyte on Dicksonia.

Site Tolerance

Moist, Rocky, Shady

Soil Tolerance

Fertile, Nutrient-poor

General Notes

This species is distinguished by its long-creeping rhizome, the dense long brown bristles covering the stipes and the finely divided frond with the narrow ultimate segments.

Propagation Calendar

  • Flowering Month
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
  • Seed Collecting Month
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
  • Sowing Month
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
  • Cutting Month
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Propagation Method
Specialist Method

Seed Information

Seed Collection

Sori halfway between midvein and margin, indusium dark brown, kidney-shaped. Spores are blackish and shed fairly quickly. Brown sporangia remain on the fronds, giving false appearance of fertile material.