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Nephrolepis cordifolia

Tuber Sword-fern

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Tuber Sword-fern, Hardy Fern, Erect Sword-fern, Fishbone Fern, Herringbone Fern, Southern Swordfern

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Australia (Queensland - n.NSW); EXOTIC EXOTIC circumtropical

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Naturalised; S.Group only (Rarotonga & Mangaia); Land

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Ornamental fern; Weed - moderate (gardens only)

KEY FEATURES: A tufted fern to 120cm. ROOTS always with tubers. FRONDS with ladder-like leaves, midrib hairy. LEAVES lance-like, to 4x1cm, glossy above; edges with low teeth; base with upper section lobed. SORI kidney-shaped.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See under native Nephrolepis flexuosa, which was pre-2005 considered a tuberless variant of the weedy Nephrolepis cordifolia.

Enlarged Image of 'Nephrolepis cordifolia'

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea: -
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
++	+	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Northern Group: -
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
-	-	-	-	-	-

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Nephrolepis cordifolia (L.)
SYNONYMS: Nephrolepis cordifolia cvs. [incl. 'Compacta', 'Gigantea', 'Plumosa', 'Variegata']

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; PTERIDOPHYTA (=Pterophyta); Aspidiales; OLEANDRACEAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: fieldspecimen+photo, 2004/11, G.McCormack, Avatiu on roadside 50m above Carpark, with ID as Nephrolepis cordifolia.

References:
p.15 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM04b, zD04b

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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