Botanical name:

Pyrrosia eleagnifolia

Common name(s):

Leather-leaf fern, pyrrosia

About:

Pyrrosia features a creeping stem, known as a rhizome, that forms extensive, dense colonies of plants, typically found growing on various surfaces such as rocky outcrops or the trunks of trees. The small, leathery fronds present are undivided and exhibit a wide range of variability in their shape and size. These fronds are notably covered in fine stellate hairs, which are sparse on the upper surface yet densely packed on the lower surface, contributing to their unique texture and appearance.

Natural habitat:

Coastal to montane. Common as an epiphyte on both indigenous and exotic trees and shrubs, also on rocks, cliffs faces and in urban areas on buildings, walls, bridges and fence posts.

Growing environment:

Sun, Drought, Wind, Coastal, Free draining tolerant.

Endemic distribution:

Kermadec, Three Kings, North, South, Stewart and Chatham Islands of New Zealand.

Height: Variable

Flowering: N/A Spore producing.

Fruiting: N/A

Uses:

Rockeries, Feature walls & Container Friendly.

How to grow:

Very easily grown. Does best in dry, sunny situations. An excellent plant for rockeries, stone walls and in pots. This species often self establishes into gardens within urban areas as it is commonly found growing on the trunks of introduced trees and shrubs in urban parks, street avenues and urban indigenous forest remnants.