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Species profile—Huperzia tetrastichoides

Classification

Plantae (plants) → Equisetopsida (land plants) → LycopodiaceaeHuperzia tetrastichoides

Species details

Kingdom
Plantae (plants)
Class
Equisetopsida (land plants)
Family
Lycopodiaceae
Scientific name
Huperzia tetrastichoides A.R.Field & Bostock
WildNet taxon ID
32536
Superseded by
Phlegmariurus tetrastichoides (03/04/2019)
Alternate name(s)
bootlace tassel fern
Queensland square tassel fern
Conservation significant
No
Confidential
Yes
Endemicity
Exotic
Pest status
Nil
Short Notes
dup-Field+ 1139-Holotype-Pteridophyta
Description
Huperzia tetrastichoides is an epiphytic fern; it lives on another plant without deriving nutrients from it. The branches are tufted, pendulous, branching one to several times and typically reaching up to 40cm long. The sterile leaves (lacking spores) are overlapping and arranged in four more or less opposite rows, widely spreading. The sterile leaves are thin but firm, ovate to lance-shaped, 5-12mm long by 2-6mm wide and deep green in colour. Sterile leaves gradually transition to fertile leaves.
The sporophylls (leaves bearing spores) are closely pressed against the stem, arranged in four rows and have a four-sided branch. They are ovate in shape, 4-6mm long and c.3mm wide at the base. The spore cases occupy one-quarter to a half of the sporophylls length. (Chinnock 1998; TSSC 2008; Field & Bostock 2008).
Habitat
Huperzia tetrastichoides mostly grows high in the canopy of trees in complex vine forest and rainforest, over granite, basalt and other metamorphics to an altitude of 1100m above sea level. It occurs in habitat along creeks and on slopes and has not been recorded from the coastal flats. This species grows lower and probably shadier than other species such as H. phlegmaria sensu latu, also growing on granite rocks and on boulders near waterfalls. (TSSC 2008; Field & Bostock 2008; A. Field pers. comm. 2010).
Behaviour
Little is known on the ecology of the species.
Reproduction
Little is known on the biology of Huperzia tetrastichoides.
Management documents
Conservation and management of protected plants in trade in Queensland 1995-1998. Department of Environment.
Notes
Contributors: Peter Bostock 30/09/2009; Ailsa Holland 11/10/2009; Danielle Hansen 16/10/2009; Wayne Martin 29/01/2010
References
Chinnock, R.J. (1998). Huperzia, in McCarthy, P.M. (Ed), Flora of Australia Vol. 48. ABRS/CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, pp. 77-84.
Field, A.R. & Bostock, P.D. (2008). Huperzia tetrastichoides A.R.Field & Bostock (Lycopodiaceae) a newly recognised species of tassel fern from the Wet Tropics of Queensland, Australia. Austrobaileya 7(4), 711-715.
Herbrecs (2008). Huperzia tetrastichoides, in BriMapper version 3.2. Queensland Herbarium. Accessed January 2009.
Threatened Species Scientific Committee (2008). Commonwealth Conservation Advice on Huperzia prolifera. [Online]. Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Canberra. Accessed 02/10/2008. http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/species/pubs/56635-conservation-advice.pdf.
Tindale, M.D. & Roy, S.K. (2002). A cytotaxonomic survey of the Pteridophyta of Australia. Australian Systematic Botany 15(6), 839-937.
Profile author
Danielle Hansen (29/01/2010)

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=32536.

This information is sourced from the WildNet database managed by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science.

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Licence
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Last updated
20 May 2024