Australian Tropical Ferns and Lycophytes - Online edition

Pseudodiphasium volubile


Click/tap on images to enlarge
Habit. © P. Bostock
Family

Lycopodiaceae

Botanical name

Pseudodiphasium volubile (G.Forst.) Holub

Link to Australian Plant Name Index for publication details and synonyms: https://id.biodiversity.org.au/name/apni/51312474

Description

Main stems trailing or scandent, to 5 m long, wiry, branched, terete, with scattered appressed subpeltate attenuated scale leaves, 3.5–5 mm long. Branchlets scattered, spreading, flattened into 1 plane, much-branched. Leaves trimorphic, yellowish green, rarely orange; lateral leaves in 2 alternate to opposite rows, ovate-lanceolate, falcate, attenuate, adnate, 3–4 mm long, to 1 mm wide; upper leaves in 2 alternate to opposite rows, scale-like, appressed, 1–2 mm long, c. 0.2 mm wide; lower leaves in 1 row, widely spaced, appressed, scale-like, to 1 mm long, obscure. 

Distribution

Recorded once from Mt Bellenden Ker in NE QLD. Also in New Zealand, Malesia and Pacific Islands.

Habit and habitat

Terrestrial, scrambling and climbing over shrubs in low microphyll vine forest or in open situations.

Natural history

This species was recorded by Domin on Mt Bellenden Ker and has not been collected again. A second collection without precise locality data is present in the NSW herbarium. The occurence of this taxon in Australia is considered doubtful.

Similar species

None - this is the only large climbing Lycopod recorded from Australia.

Citation of Australian Tropical Ferns and Lycophytes

Field AR, Quinn CJ, Zich FA (2022) Australian Tropical Ferns and Lycophytes. apps.lucidcentral.org/fern/text/intro/index.htm (accessed online INSERT DATE).

Field AR, Quinn CJ, Zich FA (2022) ‘Platycerium superbum’, in Australian Tropical Ferns and Lycophytes. apps.lucidcentral.org/fern/text/entities/platycerium_superbum.htm (accessed online INSERT DATE).

Copyright © Australian Tropical Herbarium 2022, all rights reserved.