Pellaea calidirupium
Pellaea calidirupium, also known as the hot rock fern, is a fern from eastern Australia and New Zealand that grows in rocky, relatively dry places. In Tasmania it is rare and found only on the East Coast, the Midlands, and lower slopes of the Central Plateau on dry rock faces. It is also found in Victoria and Queensland and was first described from New Zealand.
Fronds can reach up to about 50 cm long. The plant is sexually dimorphic: the shorter sterile fronds have up to 12 pinnae. The stipe can be almost half the length of the frond. Reddish-brown scales and hairs cover the stipe and stalk-like axis (rachis). The fertile part of the frond may have up to 40 pinnae, each on a short stalk. The leaves are glossy green with sori that are rolled in along a band on the underside of each pinna. The terminal pinna can be greatly enlarged.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 06:59 (CET).