Diplazium dietrichianum

Athyriaceae

Diplazium dietrichianum (Luerss.) C.Chr.

Link to Australian Plant Name Index for publication details and synonyms: https://id.biodiversity.org.au/name/apni/77447

Rhizome erect, often forming a leaning trunk to 1 m tall, scaly at the apex; scales c. 1 cm long, dark brown with margins finely toothed and apex long-acuminate. Fronds large, 1.5–3 m long, 0.5–1 m wide, erect to arcuate. Stipe black and scaly at the base, paler above. Lamina 2–3-pinnate, 1–2.5 m long, 0.5–1 m wide, dark green. Secondary pinnae variable in size, commonly 5–10 cm long, 1–1.5 cm wide; margins lobed more than half-way to the midvein; lobes toothed; basal lobes longest, glabrous beneath; veins simple or forked; lowest pair of adjacent vein groups anastomosing. Sori spreading along most veins; indusium thin, pale to dark brown with margins becoming uneven with age. 

Occurs in NE QLD from Daintree to Whitsundays. Also in Melanesia and Polynesia.

Terrestrial along rainforest margins.

Named after German-Australian collector Amelie Dietrich who collected the type near Bowen.