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Hymenophyllum flabellatum
Also called Shiny Filmy Fern
Hymenophyllum flabellatum is a delicate, shiny filmy fern with one-cell-thick membranous fronds, usually epiphytic on trunks and rocks in wet rainforest. Its key to growing it is constant humidity and moisture, since it dries out very quickly.
Hymenophyllum flabellatum (Hymen-O-FIL-lum Flab-bel-Lah-tum), the shiny filmy-fern, is a species of fern in the family Hymenophyllaceae. This delicate fern is commonly epiphytic and is between 5 and 25 cm in length. It is distinct, with its thin, one-celled thick, membranous leaves. It is from the family Hymenophyllaceae and is dispersed world wide. The species is dispersed highly throughout Tasmanian rainforests and in the south east of mainland Australia, (Victoria and New South Wales) with small pockets of the population seen in northern Queensland.
The name Hymenophyllum comes from the Greek words hymen (membrane) and phyllon (leaf). Flabellatum comes from Latin flabellatus, meaning "fan-shaped".
The shiny filmy-fern is found in rainforests, forming mats on rocks and tree trunks, and even forming curtains in well-lit caves. It is highly dispersed throughout Tasmanian rainforests, and also occurs on Flinders Island, as well as in New South Wales, Victoria and some areas in northern Queensland. The species also highly dispersed throughout New Zealand. Rainforests tend to reside fairly close to coastal areas (due to the need for precipitation) and as a result the shiny filmy-fern tends to not occur inland Tasmania or mainland Australia.
Hymenophyllum alveolatum · Austral Filmy Fern · Hymenophyllum bivalve · Hymenophyllum brachypus · Creeping Filmy Fern · Hymenophyllum cristatum · Hymenophyllum cruentum · Common Filmy Fern · Drooping Filmy Fern · Hymenophyllum dilatatum · Falkland Filmy Fern · Hymenophyllum helicoideum
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Hymenophyllum flabellatum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
