Botanical name:

Lygodium articulatum

Common name(s):

Mangemange, bushman’s mattress, makamaka

About:

A fern with a creeping stem, known as a rhizome, can often be found thriving on the forest floor. This fascinating fern exhibits a frond midrib, also referred to as the rachis, which has a notably prolonged period of growth. As it climbs around adjacent vegetation, it can reach impressive lengths of many metres, forming forked structures of both sterile and fertile leaflets at various intervals along its stem. The fertile leaflets, in particular, are quite striking as they bear several spikes, each containing a row of sporangia nestled within pouch-like folds along the margin of the leaflets.

Natural habitat:

Coastal and lowland to lower montane forests. Sometimes in gum-land scrub.

Growing environment:

Shade, Wetland, Wind, Coastal & Free draining tolerant.

Endemic distribution:

New Zealand’s North Island from North Cape (Whiriwhiri Stream) south to Marokopa and the Bay of Plenty

Height: 10m

Flowering: N/A Spore producing.

Fruiting: N/A

Uses:

Riparian plantings & Forests.

How to grow:

Once established Lygodium articulatum is easy to maintain, has rapid growth and soon forms an attractive “tangle” on a suitable host tree. Its is not fussy about soil type but doesn’t flourish in poorly drained soils and should be planted in a partially shaded site where the fronds can grow up into the sun.