14 Jan Fishbone fern
Nephrolepis cordifolia
Once a popular basket and rockery plant
because of its ability to withstand low light and
neglect, this plant is naturalised throughout a
large proportion of the NSW coast.
Family: Davalliaceae
Origin: North Eastern Australia
Habit: Terrestrial fern that forms dense clumps of upright, arching fronds
that resemble fish bones with erect rhizome and slender stolons.
Leaves: Compound fronds with opposite or alternate leaflets, often
over lapping at base, to 1m. Leaflets to 6cm long.
Flowers: Nil.
Fruit: Spores carried in round, brown clusters (sori) that form in two
rows on underside of frond.
Roots: Erect, branching rhizomes above or below ground level, with
wiry stolons bearing rounded, hairy tubers.
Dispersal: Spores carried by water, wind and contaminated soil
(tyres, earth works, people’s shoes, green waste dumping).
Problematic in any damp, shady areas, where it will completely
dominate ground cover layer.
Control: Hand pull/dig, bagging all plant parts and removing from site.
Foliar spray.
Similar local native species: Rasp
Fern Doodia aspera and Sickle Fern
Pellaea falcata.