Dictymia brownii

Polypodiaceae

Dictymia brownii (Wikstr.) Copel.

Link to Australian Plant Name Index for publication details and synonyms: https://id.biodiversity.org.au/name/apni/103013

Epiphytic or lithophytic ferns. Rhizome long-creeping, 2–6 mm diam., bearing broad thin clathrate scales, ovate, 3.5–9.5 mm long, 1–2.2 mm wide, spreading, dark brown to black; margins often with a few irregular teeth, especially towards the base; apices long-attenuate.  Stipes spaced along and articulated to the rhizome, (0–) 1–4.5 (–13.5) cm long. Fronds linear, 3.5–90 cm long, 0.5–2 cm wide, pendulous or erect, thick, brittle; base tapering gradually into the stipe; margins undulate or entire; apex bluntly acute or obtuse. Sori elliptic or oblong, rarely round, varying from c. half-way between midrib and margin to almost marginal. Spores 50–75 µm long, 30–47.5 µm wide.

Windsor Tableand NE QLD to E NSW. Also in Malesia and the Pacific Islands.

A canopy or subcanopy epiphyte or lithophyte in low to upper montane vine forest or wet-sclerophyll forest.

Easy to cultivate and hardy when planted in a nest-fern in a tropical garden or fernery.