Velvet Fern
Botanical name: Lastreopsis velutina
Synonyms: Ctenitis velutina, Lastrea velutina, Nephrodium velutinum, Aspidium velutinum, Dryopteris velutina
Common name(s): Velvet fern
About:
Lastreopsis velutina is a distinctive endemic New Zealand forest fern named for the remarkably soft, velvety texture of its fronds. The stipes, rachises and surfaces of the dark green fronds are clothed in numerous soft brown to rusty-brown hairs, together with much smaller glandular hairs.
It is a medium to large terrestrial fern producing finely divided fronds from a stout, predominantly erect rhizome. Mature plants form attractive clusters of arching foliage that can reach around 80 cm or more in overall frond length.
Velvet fern is closely related to hairy fern (Lastreopsis hispida), but the two feel very different. L. hispida has harsh fronds and conspicuous stiff, dark bristle-like scales, whereas L. velutina has soft, flexible hairs that give the foliage its characteristic velvety texture.
Unlike several New Zealand species formerly placed within Lastreopsis, both L. velutina and L. hispida remain correctly assigned to the genus.
Natural habitat:
Coastal to montane indigenous forest, particularly in damp, sheltered situations.
It is principally a terrestrial fern of lowland and coastal forest but extends into suitable montane environments.
Typical sites include moist forest floors, shaded slopes, gullies, stream margins, banks and other humid locations beneath established forest canopies.
Growing environment:
Shade, Partial Shade, Moist Soil, Humus-rich Soil, Shelter & Well-drained conditions tolerant.
Velvet fern thrives in the cool, humid conditions of a sheltered forest floor.
It prefers consistently moist soil rich in organic matter but benefits from good drainage and protection from prolonged drying, strong wind and intense direct sunlight.
Endemic distribution:
Endemic to New Zealand.
Occurs naturally in the North and South Islands, although its abundance varies considerably between regions.
It is predominantly associated with suitable damp coastal and lowland forest, extending locally into montane environments.
Height:
Fronds commonly approximately 35–80 cm long and potentially longer on well-developed plants.
Width:
Individual laminae approximately 15–35 cm wide, with mature clumps potentially spreading considerably farther as successive fronds develop.
Flowering:
Not applicable.
As a fern, Lastreopsis velutina does not produce flowers.
Fruiting:
Not applicable.
Ferns do not produce fruits. Fertile fronds instead develop numerous sori containing microscopic spores on their undersides.
Uses:
• Native woodland gardens
• Fern gardens and ferneries
• Shaded native borders
• Forest restoration
• Streamside planting
• Shaded banks and gullies
• Underplanting beneath native trees
• Specialist native fern collections
• Naturalistic forest-floor planting
• Humid and sheltered gardens
Appearance:
Growth habit:
A terrestrial perennial fern forming clusters of large, arching, finely divided fronds.
Unlike the distinctly creeping rhizome of Lastreopsis hispida, velvet fern develops from a stout, predominantly erect rhizome, resulting in a more concentrated tuft of fronds.
The dark green foliage has a soft, somewhat membranous texture and is conspicuously velvety to the touch.
Rhizomes/Stems:
The rhizome is stout, erect and densely covered in narrow dark to pale brown scales that may reach approximately 15 mm long.
Stipes arise in a tuft and are stout, approximately 15–50 cm long.
The lower portions carry brown scales, while the upper portions are densely to more sparsely clothed in long, soft, rusty-brown hairs.
The rachis is similarly stout and covered with soft ferruginous hairs.
This soft hair covering contrasts strongly with the rigid, almost black bristle-like scales characteristic of Lastreopsis hispida.
Leaves:
Fronds are dark green, soft and velvety, with silky hairs occurring on both upper and lower surfaces.
The lamina is generally divided two or three times, occasionally four times, and measures approximately 20–45 cm long and 15–35 cm wide.
The overall outline is broadly ovate to triangular.
The largest lower primary pinnae may reach approximately 25 × 15 cm and are obliquely ovate-triangular.
Secondary pinnae may reach approximately 10 × 4 cm and are generally lanceolate.
Tertiary divisions reach around 2 × 1 cm and may themselves be divided or deeply lobed. The final segments range from oblong to triangular, with tips varying from acute to relatively blunt.
The extensive covering of soft brown and silky hairs gives the entire frond its characteristic velvet-like feel.
Flowers:
Absent.
Velvet fern reproduces through spores rather than flowers.
Fruit:
Absent.
No fruits or capsules are produced.
Seeds:
Absent.
Reproduction is by microscopic spores produced within sporangia grouped into sori on the undersides of fertile fronds.
The sori are rounded, approximately 1 mm across, and usually occur in groups of 1–4, occasionally up to 6, on each ultimate lobe.
Each developing sorus is protected by a rounded to kidney-shaped indusium that may itself carry fine hairs.
Ecology:
Lastreopsis velutina forms part of the ground-layer fern community of New Zealand’s humid indigenous forests.
Its preference for moist, shaded environments makes it characteristic of relatively sheltered forest interiors, gullies and other sites where humidity remains high and the soil surface is protected from excessive drying.
The broad, finely divided fronds contribute to the structural complexity of the forest floor and provide cover and humid microhabitats for small native invertebrates.
The species’ dependence on sheltered forest conditions also means that removal of canopy cover can substantially alter the cool, humid environment in which established plants thrive.
Associated habitats:
Coastal forest, lowland broadleaved forest, podocarp-broadleaved forest, montane forest, shaded gullies, stream margins, moist forest slopes and sheltered banks.
It commonly forms part of mixed fern communities beneath taller native trees and shrubs, growing amongst tree ferns, other ground ferns, mosses, liverworts and shade-tolerant forest herbs.
How to grow:
Velvet fern is best grown in conditions resembling a naturally sheltered New Zealand forest floor.
Choose a position in partial to full shade with moist, humus-rich and freely draining soil.
Incorporating well-decomposed leaf litter, composted bark or similar organic material helps maintain the loose, moisture-retentive conditions preferred by its rhizome and roots.
Keep plants consistently moist during establishment and protect them from drying winds and strong afternoon sun.
Once established, little maintenance is required beyond maintaining moisture and allowing natural leaf litter to accumulate around the plant.
Old or damaged fronds can be removed close to the base when necessary.
Propagation:
Propagation is principally by spores.
Mature fertile fronds can be collected when the sori are well developed and beginning to release spores. Spores should be sown onto the surface of a clean, sterile, moist propagation medium and maintained under consistently humid conditions.
Development is considerably slower and more specialised than ordinary seed propagation because the spores initially produce tiny gametophytes before young fern sporophytes develop.
Division may occasionally be possible on sufficiently mature multi-crowned plants, but the predominantly erect rhizome makes this species less naturally suited to division than creeping-rhizomed ferns.
Cultural use:
No specific traditional Māori material use is well documented for Lastreopsis velutina.
Its significance lies particularly in its contribution to New Zealand’s exceptionally diverse endemic fern flora and the distinctive ground-layer vegetation of indigenous forests.
Garden value:
An attractive and texturally distinctive fern for shaded native gardens.
Its rich dark green foliage, finely divided fronds and unusually soft velvet-like covering make it especially appealing where plants can be viewed and touched at close range.
Velvet fern is particularly effective beneath native trees, beside shaded paths, around sheltered water features and within dedicated ferneries.
When combined with other native ferns of contrasting textures and forms, its soft foliage adds considerable depth and authenticity to a New Zealand woodland garden.