About

Hymenophyllum australe, commonly known as austral filmy fern, is a relatively large rupestral and epiphytic fern, indigenous to eastern Australia and New Zealand. It belongs to the unique Hymenophyllum genus (filmy ferns), which are characterised by their thin membranous fronds that are seldom more than one cell thick, with the exception of regions over and around veins. Hymenophyllum australe is distinctive in that the fronds are typically thicker than other Hymenophyllum species, often being up to 2-3 cells thick.

Hymenophyllum australe is inconspicuous and will typically form matted patches together with mosses and liverworts. In Australia it takes on an epiphytic approach, commonly seen to clothe roots, trunks and rocks to form a dense mat of foliage; while in New Zealand it adopts a more rheophytic approach, preferring rocks or tree trunks in or close to water.

Where it grows

Hymenophyllum australe is a common fern species of eastern Australia, principally located in the rainforests and fern gullies. It is present in Victoria, from the Otways through to Gippsland and was formally present on the Mornington Peninsula, but recently appears extinct in this area owing to bushfires.

Other Hymenophyllum plants

Hymenophyllum alveolatum · Hymenophyllum bivalve · Hymenophyllum brachypus · Creeping Filmy Fern · Hymenophyllum cristatum · Hymenophyllum cruentum · Common Filmy Fern · Drooping Filmy Fern · Hymenophyllum dilatatum · Falkland Filmy Fern · Fan Like Filmy Fern · Hymenophyllum helicoideum