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Scientific Name
Gleichenia microphylla
Family Name
GLEICHENIACEAE
Common Name
Scrambling coral-fern
Status
Height
1.0m - 3.0m (100-300cm) long
Flowers
None
Fruit
Spores
Form
Fern forming tangled colonies, fronds; wiry, branching many times, dark green to yellowish; pinnules; triangular, flat.
Municipalities
Break O'Day; Burnie; Central Coast; Central Highlands; Circular Head; Derwent Valley; Devonport; Dorset; Flinders Island; Georgetown; Glamorgan-Spring Bay; Huon Valley; Kentish; King Island; Kingborough; Latrobe; Launceston; Meander Valley; Northern Midlands; Tasman; Waratah-Wynyard; West Coast; West Tamar
Communities
Dry Eucalypt Forest and Woodland; Heath; Riparian
Habitat Notes
Common and widespread in badly drained and permanently wet soils of heathland, watercourse margins and dry sclerophyll forest This species and G. dicarpa have similar requirements and distribution and the two species frequently grow together. Tolerates salt laden winds in coastal situations.
Site Tolerance
Exposed; Moist; Waterlogged; Windy; Salt laden winds
Frost Tolerance
Soil Tolerance
Poor; Poorly-drained
General Notes
Fronds, or portions of fronds, containing ripe spores can be placed in a paper bag which is left upright in a dry and draught-free place. Spores should begin to release immediately and all spores are released within days unless the species has tough, leathery fronds. Spores settle at the bottom of the bag. After sowing specks of green appear within 2-4 weeks. These are the young prothalli and during the next 6-12 months they are at risk from overcrowding and pathogens. When the first fronds appear the sporelings can be slowly hardened by gradual removal of the container cover. Great care must be taken to avoid drying out. Prick out sporelings when the second frond appears. Sporelings are established easily but plants resent lime and fertilizers and must not be allowed to dry out. Sunny situations are favoured. Suitable below powerlines.
Propagation Details
Propagation Calendar
Flowering Months
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Seed Collecting Months
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Sowing Months
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Cutting Months
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Seed Information
Seed Collection
Spores are collected when mature on the frond. unripe sori are generally light green then change to yellowish brown and to dark brown or black when mature
Seed Treatment Method
Standard
Seed Storage Life
Viable Seeds Per Gram
Seed Treatment Notes
Sow spores into a pot in a water retaining medium with good drainage. Sterilise medium & containerwith boiling water and sow spores bysprinkling a small amount onto the surface of the medium. Cover immediately with clean glass or plastic wrap and leave in a warm area in strong light but not direct sunlight.
Germination Time
Suitable for Direct Seeding
Cuttings
Expected Time to Take Root
Expected Time to Plant Out
Propagation by Division
N.B. Transplant only from nearby to avoid disease.
Cutting Notes
Copyright 2000-2009, Understorey Network Incorporated. Updated 2024-10-14
Database development and website design by
Andrew Smith