Botanical name:

Asplenium obtusatum

Common name(s):

Shore spleenwort

About:

Found in localised coastal areas of both the main and offshore islands, this fern is similar to A. oblongifolium but is smaller in size. It features fleshy, upright fronds with rounded ends on the leaflets. Well-suited for coastal environments, it thrives in both shaded and open situations, provided it has a cool root run. However, plants may sometimes suffer damage from slugs.

Natural habitat:

A coastal fern confined in the northern part of its range to only the most exposed situations. Further south it grows not only on exposed cliffs but also in coastal vegetation where it often forms an important association with Hebe elliptica and Blechnum durum. Frequently associated with sea bird colonies.

Growing environment:

Frost, Sun, Shade, Coastal & Free draining tolerant.

Endemic distribution:

New Zealand: North (Cook Strait only), South, Chatham, Stewart, Snares, Antipodes, Auckland and Campbell Islands. Also South America as well as on many islands of the southern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Height: Variable up to 1m.

Flowering: N/A Spore producing

Fruiting: N/A

Uses:

Riparian plantings, Pioneer Plantings & Container friendly

How to grow:

Easily grown by spore or division but generally rather slow. A spectacular pot plant. Thrives with added poultry manure, thus simulating its common habitat of coastal seabird colonies.