Botanical name:

Christella dentata

Common name(s):

Christella

About:

This is a rare and endangered fern species that is limited to just one or two swampy sites located near Kaitaia. It features a creeping rhizome, from which fronds can grow to a height ranging from 50cm to 1.2m. The fronds are soft and exhibit a light green colour, adorned with pinnately divided leaflets that add to its visual appeal. This fern is relatively easy to cultivate, as it thrives best in conditions of semi-shade or full shade and requires a rich, well-aerated soil to flourish.

Natural habitat:

A transient fern that thrives in recently disturbed soil. In New Zealand, the typical form of C. dentata occurs naturally only in the northern regions, favoring warm, frost-free environments such as coastal wetlands, riverbanks, and remnants of alluvial forests.

Growing environment:

Sun, Shade, Wetland, Coastal & Wind tolerant.

Endemic distribution:

New Zealand’s North Island known only from 1 or 2 sites near Kaitaia. Christella dentata is a widespread and variable old world species, showing a wide range of local variation. Many of these variants have been given formal names but acceptance of these is not universal. New Zealand plants appear to be the same form as that commonly found in eastern Australia and Norfolk Island.

Height: 70cm

Flowering: N/A Spore producing

Fruiting: N/A

Uses:

Riparian plantings, Forests & Pioneer Plantings

How to grow:

Very easily grown by the divisions of whole plants and from spores. In warm sheltered gardens this species frequently naturalises. It is frost sensitive. Although in New Zealand it is primarily a species of wetlands, in cultivation it can, and will grow in almost any soil and moisture regime.