Elaphoglossum callifolium

Dryopteridaceae

Elaphoglossum callifolium (Blume) T.Moore

Link to Australian Plant Name Index for publication details and synonyms: https://id.biodiversity.org.au/name/apni/116727

Hart's-Tongue Fern

Rhizome short-creeping; scales narrowly ovate, 3–13 mm long, 0.3–1.5 mm wide, with long-attenuate apices. Fronds simple, crowded; fertile lamina smaller but usually on a longer stipe. Stipe 8–15 cm long, scaly at the base. Lamina oblong-obovate to oblong-elliptic, 18–45 cm long, 3.5–6 cm wide, bright green and shiny above, dull beneath; base narrowly cuneate, tapered into the stipe; margins entire or undulate; apex subacute to acute; phyllopodia 1.5–2.5 cm long; veins making a wide angle with the midrib, simple or forked, free or with occasional anastomoses. 

Occurs in NE QLD between the Windsor Tableland and Eungella usually at altitudes above 800 m. Also in Malesia and Polynesia.

Lithophytic or occasionally epiphytic in high altitude rainforest.

Slow to propagate and establish. Can be cultivated in a moist fernery in a cool tropical or subtropical area.

Similar to Elaphoglossum queenslandicum. Elaphoglossum callifolium has broader (35–60 mm), larger fronds than E. queenslandicum  (10–25 mm).