Municipalities

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Scientific Name

Schizaea bifida

Family Name

SCHIZAEACEAE

Common Name

Forked comb-fern

Status

Height

fronds 0.1m - 0.25m (10-25cm)

Flowers

None

Fruit

Spores

Form

Fertile fronds unbranched (or branched once), short, thick, slightly flattened, smooth with large combs. Sterile fronds (rare) unbranched.

Municipalities

Break O'Day; Burnie; Dorset; Flinders Island; Glamorgan-Spring Bay; Hobart; Huon Valley; Kentish; King Island; Kingborough; Meander Valley; Northern Midlands; Sorell; Tasman; Waratah-Wynyard; West Coast; West Tamar

Communities

Coastal Vegetation; Dry Eucalypt Forest and Woodland

Habitat Notes

Locally common below 200m in near-coastal sites. Grows in peaty, gravelly or sandy soils in dry sclerophyll forest or heathland.

Site Tolerance

Dry; Exposed; Moist; Shady

Frost Tolerance

Soil Tolerance

Poor; Sandy; Well-drained; Gravelly; Peaty

General Notes

Suitable below powerlines.

Propagation Details

Propagation Calendar

Flowering Months

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Seed Collecting Months

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Sowing Months

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Cutting Months

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Seed Information

Seed Collection

Seed Treatment Method

Seed Storage Life

Viable Seeds Per Gram

Seed Treatment Notes

There is no record of success in spore raising because of the delicate fungal symbiosis.

Germination Time

Suitable for Direct Seeding

Cuttings

Expected Time to Take Root

Expected Time to Plant Out

Propagation by Division N.B. Transplant only from nearby to avoid disease.

Cutting Notes

Transplanting of most species is very difficult as they do not tolerate disturbance of the root system which is often buried deep in the soil. Plants from a wet habitat over rock are most likely to succeed. Once established they can be maintained in conditions similar to the original habitat.