Municipalities

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Scientific Name

Sphaerocionium applanatum

Family Name

HYMENOPHYLLACEAE

Common Name

Skeleton filmy fern

Status

Height

0.05m - 0.2m (5-20cm)

Flowers

None

Fruit

Spores

Form

Small filmy fern in clumps; fronds rusty - coloured on thin, wiry stems, stellate hairs.

Municipalities

Central Coast; Central Highlands; Derwent Valley; Glamorgan-Spring Bay; Huon Valley; Kentish; Meander Valley; Waratah-Wynyard; West Coast

Communities

Montane Vegetation; Rainforest; Riparian; Wet Eucalypt Forest

Habitat Notes

Tas. endemic. Restricted to high rainfall areas of the west and south. Seems to be epiphytic on Athrotaxis selaginoides from 680m to 1080 m and A. cupressoides from 950m to 1120m. Also found at lower altitudes. It is also litho- phytic on quartzitic or schistose rocks.Found rarely on sandstone & on Banksia marginata.

Site Tolerance

Moist; Rocky; Shady

Frost Tolerance

Soil Tolerance

Well-drained; Bark of native pines; Epiphytic; Lithophytic

General Notes

Difficult to maintain in cultivation - dies out easily. Requires cool humid conditions with some air movement. Best in a terrarium or very humid fernery. 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

Spores are collected when mature on the frond. unripe sori aregenerally light green then change to yellowish brown and to dark brown or black when mature

Seed Treatment Method

Seed Storage Life

Viable Seeds Per Gram

Seed Treatment Notes

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