Species profile—Thelypteris confluens
Classification
Plantae (plants) → Equisetopsida (land plants) → Thelypteridaceae → Thelypteris confluens
Species details
- Kingdom
- Plantae (plants)
- Class
- Equisetopsida (land plants)
- Family
- Thelypteridaceae
- Scientific name
- Thelypteris confluens (Thunb.) C.V.Morton
- WildNet taxon ID
- 16042
- Nature Conservation Act 1992 (NCA) status
- Vulnerable
- Conservation significant
- Yes
- Confidential
- Yes
- Wetland status
- Wetland Indicator Species
- Endemicity
- Native
- Pest status
- Nil
- Description
- Thelypteris confluens is a fern with a slender rhizome about 2.5 to 4 mm diameter which is extremely tough and flexible. The fronds are up to 1 m tall, but mostly much less, bright lime-green in colour. The stipe is 15 to 50 cm long. The lamina is 25 to 50 cm long. Sterile pinnae are commonly 4 to 6 cm long to 1.5 cm wide. The fertile pinnae are about the same length but 6 to 11 mm wide. The basal pinnae are slightly reduced, with elongate and sometimes free basal lobes; middle pinnae are not dilated at their bases, lobed to less than 1 mm from the costa; lobe margins are strongly recurved, giving the lobe the appearance of being much narrower than the sterile ones. The veins in the sterile pinnae are mostly forked, in the fertile pinnae they are often simple; the lower surface of the costae with slender hairs and flat ovate-rounded pale brown ciliate scales 0.5 to 1 mm long and wide. The lower surface between the veins with a variable number of slender acicular and short-capitate hairs. The sori indusiate, nearer to costules than to the margin; the indusium is reniform, bearing glandular hairs (Bostock, 1998).
- Map
- View Map
- Habitat
- Thelypteris confluens is a rare fern that is found in permanently swampy areas and mound springs, in Qld associated with species of the sedges Baumea and Cladium, and Phragmites australis. The fronds of T. confluens invariably occur in the uppermost layer of swamp vegetation, and this is achieved by disproportionate growth of the stipe (Bostock, 1998).
- Threatening processes
- The North Stradbroke Island population is threatened by weed incursion from lantana and groundsel, mining-related operations and inappropriate fire regimes (Bostock & Sparshott, 1993)
- Status notes
- Listed as Vulnerable under the Nature Conservation Act 1992
- Notes
- Occurs in the following Queensland pastoral districts: Leichhardt, Moreton, Wide Bay. Also occurs in the following regions: Victoria, N.Z. Antarctica, Africa.
- References
- Bostock, P.D. in McCarthy, P.M. (Ed) (1998). Flora of Australia 48: 336-337, Figs 71, 113. Bostock, P.D. & Sparshott, K.M. (1993). An assessment of rare and threatened wetlands flora and their habitats in National Estate interim listed areas on North Stradbroke Island. Queensland Herbarium, Department of Environment and Heritage, Brisbane.
Queensland Herbarium (2012). Specimen label information. Queensland Herbarium. Accessed 20/03/2012. - Profile author
- Ronald Booth (04/06/2012)
Other resources
Data source
This profile data is sourced from the QLD Wildlife Data API using the Get species by ID function used under CC-By 4.0.
https://apps.des.qld.gov.au/species/?op=getspeciesbyid&taxonid=16042.
This information is sourced from the WildNet database managed by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science.
