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NZ Plants

Gleichenia alpina - alpine tangle fern

Tangle and umbrella fern family: Gleicheniaceae

  • Plant with tips of fronds above older, dead leaflets

    L Jensen

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  • Plant cut open to show the numerous intertangled branches of the fronds

    L Jensen

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  • Frond with repeatedly branching midrib (rachis)

    I MacDonald

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  • Rachis with hairs

    L Jensen

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  • Rachis with stellate hairs and scales

    L Jensen

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  • Upper portion of growing frond with repeated forked branching

    I MacDonald

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  • Uppermost pair of rachis branches with terminal bud

    L Jensen

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  • Frond upper surface, midrib with leaflets

    L Jensen

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  • Leaflets, upper surface

    L Jensen

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  • Frond lower surface, midrib with leaflets

    L Jensen

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  • Leaflets, lower surface covered with hairs and scales

    L Jensen

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  • Leaflet midrib with scales with filamentous (fringed) margins

    L Jensen

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  • Young leaflet, midrib with stellate hairs and fringed scales

    L Jensen

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  • Detached fringed scale

    L Jensen

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Gleichenia alpina is a small terrestrial fern with long-creeping scaly rhizomes. The erect fronds are complex consisting of 1-many tiers of pairs of branches with buds in between them. Ultimate leaflets are pouched and sporangia are in groups of two. A species characterised by its small size and pouched ultimate leaflets with a dense covering of scales. Formerly included within Gleichenia dicarpa.
Found throughout New Zealand forming dense springy thickets in open subalpine areas.
 

Vegetative characteristics

Fertile frond and sporangia

Plant form: creeping rhizome with branching fronds up to 0.5 m tall

Frond appearance: similar to sterile frond

Frond stalk, midrib: red-brown fringed scales, soon shed

Sporangium location: on lower frond surface

Frond shape: ultimate branches linear-oblong

Sporangium position: to either side of vein

Frond blade: ultimate branches pinnate (divided 1x into leaflets or pinnae)

Sporangia distribution: in groups (sori) each consisting of 2 sporangia

Frond surface: leathery; upper surface with hairs; lower surface with dense reddish scales

Sorus shape: circular

Leaflets: rounded, pouched below with dense covering of scales; attached along base (adnate)

Sorus covering: 0

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