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NZ Plants

Lygodium articulatum - mākaka, mangemange, climbing fern

Family Lygodiaceae

  • Young frond midrib (rachis) with widely-spaced leaflets

    L Jensen

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  • Climbing frond, rachis with leaflets

    L Jensen

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  • Growing tip of a frond rachis

    L Jensen

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  • Growing rachis with new leaflets

    L Jensen

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  • Young leaflet with forked midrib

    L Jensen

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  • Dormant bud between forked leaflet midribs

    L Jensen

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  • Mature leaflet with forked midribs terminating in secondary leaflets

    L Jensen

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  • Leaflet, midrib attchment to secondary leaflets

    L Jensen

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  • Secondary leaflet, upper surface

    L Jensen

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  • Leaflet with fertile secondary leaflets (left) and sterile secondary leaflets (right)

    L Jensen

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  • Young fertile leaflets lower surface, formation of marginal spikes

    L Jensen

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  • Mature fertile leaflet with elongated spikes containing sporangia

    L Jensen

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  • Mature fertile spike upper surface

    L Jensen

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  • Marginal spike, side view

    L Jensen

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  • Marginal spike lower surface, sporangia releasing spores

    L Jensen

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Lygodium articulatum is a fern with a creeping stem (rhizome) found on the forest floor. The frond midrib (rachis) has a prolonged period of growth as it climbs around adjacent vegetation reaching many metres in length, forming forked sterile and fertile leaflets at intervals.  Fertile leaflets bear several spikes each containing of a row of sporangia within pouch-like folds of the leaflet margin.

An endemic species found in the upper half of the North Island in open, lowland forest.

Vegetative characteristics

Fertile frond and sporangia

Plant form: creeping stem with fronds up to10 m

Frond appearance: reduced leaflet blade with rows (spikes) of marginal pouch-like segments

Frond stalk, midrib: green

Sporangium location: on spikes

Frond shape: linear

Sporangium position: leaflet margin

Frond blade: 2-3-pinnate (divided 2-3x into leaflets or pinnae)

Sporangia distribution: in groups (sori)

Frond surface: smooth

Sorus shape: circular

Leaflets: oblong with smooth margin   

Sorus covering: enrolled leaflet margin (pouch)

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