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New Zealand has about 253 species of ferns and lycophytes of which
- 52 are introduced
- 201 are native
- 91 endemic
- 16 are lycophytes
- 237 are ferns
The Tangihua’s have a large variety of ferns and lycophytes
The Tangihua forest has a large variety of ferns and lycophytes ranging from tiny ferns you can barely see to 20-metre-tall tree ferns.
The fern species in the Tangihua’s include
- Bracken ferns of the Dennstaedtiacae family
- Filmy ferns – Hymenophyllacae
- Hard ferns –
- spleenworts – Aspleniacea
- Thread ferns – climb along the forest floor and then up a tree
- Tree ferns – Cythea and Dicksonia, commonly called Ponga
The ferns grow in habitats ranging from high in the trees to the lowest banks of the streams and anywhere else in between
Ferns and lycophytes description
Ferns and lycophytes are green plants that lack flowers. They reproduce by microscopic spores, rather than by seeds. They differ from mosses or liverworts which also produce spores because their life cycle involves two separate, independent phases:
These phases are
- a leafy plant phase that produces spores
- short-lived plant that bears sex organs.
It is the first phase the leafy, spore-producing plant most people think of as a typical fern or lycophyte.
Ferns and lycophytes typically have three main parts:
- Stems. There are various types, including creeping or climbing ones with widely spaced fronds, short or compressed stems from which a crown of fronds arise, and the tall, upright stems of tree ferns.
- Fronds. There is usually a stalk with a flat blade divided into segments. New fronds are tightly coiled into a spiral, popularly known as fiddleheads or koru.
- Spore-producing structures or sporangia. Fertile fronds carry reproductive structures, sterile fronds do not.
What is a lycophyte compared to a fern
Lycophytes
Although Lycophytes are similar to ferns they are no more closely related to ferns than to seed producing plants.
There are some differences.
- Lycophytes have unique leaves called microphylls which is a type of plant leaf with one single, unbranched leaf vein.
- The leaves are spirally arranged around the stem.
- Their sporangia (place where spores are formed) are on the upper surface of the leaves. In ferns they tend to be underneath or on the edge
There are three types of Lycophytes
- Club mosses
- quillworts
- spike mosses
Lycophytes are believed to be the oldest living lineage of vascular plants. Estimates of their evolution date back to more than 400 million years.
Ferns
In most temperate-zone species of ferns,
- The rhizome is subterranean and has true roots attached to it.
- Fronds are generally connected to the rhizome by a stalk, known technically as the stipe.
- The structures of the frond, rhizome, and stipe are important characteristics for species identification
The above description applies to ferns ranging from tall tree ferns to minute aquatic ferns but even so there is no single character that defines ferns.
One large group is easily recognised by its highly divided fronds with branching veins and spore-bearing structures (sporangia) on the margins or undersides.
The other group is not as leafy, and contains members that look quite different from each other. Some, such as fork ferns, whisk ferns and horsetails, were previously grouped with lycophytes and known as ‘fern allies’, but DNA evidence suggests they are actually ferns.
Fern life cycle
The life cycle of the fern has two different stages; sporophyte, which releases spores, and gametophyte, which releases gametes. This type of life cycle is called alternation of generations.
Sporophyte stage –
Mature ferns produce fronds which are fertile and have sori ( brown patches which are made up of spore bearing capsules) underneath or on the edge. In the sori spores are produced by meiosis. The sori split open and release large quantities of spores. The spores then germinate and develop into heart shaped plants called prothalli. These are tiny ( 2-5mm wide and heart shaped)and so are seldom seen. This is the gametophyte stage.
gametophyte stage –
The gameotype stage consists of the prothallus developing over several weeks. During this time ova and sperm are produced. The sperm are able to swim to the ova for fertilisation. This forms a diploid zygote which divideds by motosis forming a multicellular sporophyte. The sporophyte grows out from the prothallus and depends on it for water supply and nutrition. The sporophyte develops into a new independent fern nand so the cycle repeats itself.
Ferns arrival in New Zealand
New Zealand’s has 194 native ferns and lycophytes,. Of these 90 species (46%) are endemic and 104 species (54%) also live in other countries: The endemic ferns are mainly in the south Island and the shared ones in Northern New Zealand.
There are two possible ways that native ferns and lycophytes arrived in New Zealand:
- They may have been on the New Zealand land mass when it split away from the supercontinent Gondwana about 85 million years ago.
- Their spores may have blown to New Zealand from populations on nearby land masses, and become established.
Maori
Māori uses Food and medicine
Māori ate a number of ferns. The stems of underground bracken (Pteridium esculentum) contain starch and were a staple food. However, bracken is now known to contain cancer-causing chemicals and should be avoided. More of a delicacy was king fern or para (Marattia salicina), which was cultivated for its tuberous root. The young, curled fiddleheads of many species are edible and were eaten as greens. They are being cultivated again under their Māori name of pikopiko. The inner core of mamaku or black tree fern (Cyathea medullaris) yields a slimy pith that was cut into slabs and baked in a hāngī(earth oven).
Several ferns were used for their medicinal properties, for example, as poultices for skin conditions. Construction and weaving
Tree fern trunks were used to build houses and food stores, as they are slow to rot and last well in the ground. Today, whekī (Dicksonia squarrosa) is used for retaining walls. Stems of Lycopodium volubile and mangemange (Lygodium articulatum) were used as binding twine. Stems of the clubmoss puakarimu (Lycopodium deuterodensum) were woven with flax to make waterproof capes.
Additional information specific to individual ferns
- Bracken ferns of the Dennstaedtiacae family
- Filmy ferns – Hymenophyllacae
- Hard ferns –
- spleenworts – Aspleniacea
- Thread ferns – climb along the forest floor and then up a tree
- Tree ferns – Cythea and Dicksonia, commonly called Punga
Refereances
Sourced from Landcare Research
The need for conservation
It is apparent that the fate of the ecosystem in the Tangihua Ranges depends on putting in place conservation strategies which will significantly reduce or stop the damage inflicted by introduced pests. Most of the above species, if this is done will regenerate or can be successfully reintroduced and established.
DOC does not have enough funding to conserve the Tangihua forest, it is up to the community and others to step up.
We have set up two conservation programs so far
Tangihua Community Pest Control Area click here for more information
Conservation on DOC land click here for more information
Conservation education click here for more information
Volunteers options click here for more information
We have provided additional information on the following subjects
References
it is very apparent that specific information has been shared online between many organisations. Attributing to the initial source is impossible. As much as possible we use our own photos but this will take time and for extinct birds that is not possible. We have used the following websites as sources for our information
- Te Ara The Encyclopaedia of New Zealand
- Wikipedia
- T.E.R:R.I.A.N Taranaki Education resource: research and information network
- Te Ara The Encyclopaedia of New Zealand
