Classification
Class
Polypodiopsida
Subclass
Polypodiidae
Order
Polypodiales Link
Family
Blechnaceae Newman
Genus
Blechnum L.
 Nomenclature
Scientific Name:
Blechnum patersonii (R.Br.) Mett., Fil. Hort. Bot. Lips. 64, t. 4, f. 4–10 (1856)
Synonymy:
  • ≡ Stegania patersonii R.Br., Prodr. Fl. Nov. Holland. 152 (1810)
  • ≡ Lomaria patersonii (R.Br.) Spreng., Syst. Veg., ed. 16, 4, 62 (1827)
  • ≡ Spicanta patersonii (R.Br.) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 2, 822 (1891)
  • ≡ Austroblechnum patersonii (R.Br.) Gasper & V.A.O.Dittrich in Gasper et al., Phytotaxa 275: 203 (2016)
Lectotype (selected by Chambers & Farrant 1998, first step lectotypification; Field 2020, second step lectotypification): Insula Van Diemen [Tasmania], Port Dalrymple, W. Paterson s.n., BM 001048211 (!online)
Etymology:
Named in honour of Colonel William Paterson (1755–1810), Scottish soldier, explorer and botanist in Tasmania, and in 1794 Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales.
Vernacular Name(s):
strap water fern
 Description
 Recognition

Blechnum patersonii is similar to B. colensoi, but the sterile laminae are either undivided, or have only 1–4 pairs of pinnae, with two broad wings of lamina tissue extending below the basal pair either side of the rachis. The pinnae are 6–32 mm wide, generally narrower than in B. colensoi. The fertile fronds have 1–2 pairs of pinnae, with sori and indusia in one row either side of the costa, continuous along the length of the pinna, but also extending along the rachis wings.

 Distribution

North Island: Northland.

Altitudinal range: 10 m.

Collected once as a cultivation escape in Kerikeri.

Occurs naturally in Australia (Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania), Flores, Timor and Papua New Guinea (Chambers & Farrant 2012).

Blechnum patersonii distribution map based on databased records at AK, CHR & WELT. Image: K.Boardman © Landcare Research 2020 CC BY 4.0
Blechnum patersonii distribution map based on databased records at AK, CHR & WELT. Image: K.Boardman © Landcare Research 2020 CC BY 4.0
 Habitat

Recorded as a sporeling from the parent plant in cultivation.

 Biostatus
Exotic
 First Record

Heenan et al. (2008). Voucher AK 288168, 2004.

 Images
Blechnum patersonii. Herbarium specimen of cultivated plant from Kerikeri, AK 291615, showing mature fertile and sterile fronds. Image: Auckland Museum © Auckland Museum All rights reserved
Blechnum patersonii. Herbarium specimen of cultivated plant from Kerikeri, AK 291615, showing mature fertile and sterile fronds. Image: Auckland Museum © Auckland Museum All rights reserved
 Bibliography
Brown, R. 1810: Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van-Diemen. Johnson, London.
Brownsey, P.J.; Perrie, L.R. 2021: Blechnaceae. In: Breitwieser, I. (ed.) Flora of New Zealand — Ferns and Lycophytes. Fascicle 29. Manaaki Whenua Press, Lincoln.
Chambers, T.C.; Farrant, P.A. 1998: Blechnum. In: Flora of Australia. Vol. 48. 271–286.
Chambers, T.C.; Farrant, P.A. 2012: Blechnum. In: Flora Malesiana, Series II, Ferns and Fern Allies. Vol. 4. 4–67.
Gasper, A.L. de; Dittrich, V.A.O.; Smith, A.R.; Salino, A. 2016: A classification for Blechnaceae (Polypodiales: Polypodiopsida): New genera, resurrected names, and combinations. Phytotaxa 275(3): 191–227.
Heenan, P.B.; de Lange, P.J.; Cameron, E.K.; Parris, B.S. 2008: Checklist of dicotyledons, gymnosperms, and pteridophytes naturalised or casual in New Zealand: additional records 2004–06. New Zealand Journal of Botany 46: 257–283.
Kuntze, C.E.O. 1891: Revisio Generum Plantarum. Vol. 2. Arthur Felix, Leipzig.
Mettenius, G.H. 1856: Filices Horti Botanici Lipsiensis. Leopold Voss, Leipzig.
Sprengel, K.P.J. 1827: Systema vegetabilium. Vol. 4. Dieterich, Göttingen.