About Cranfillia fluviatilis (R.Br.) Gasper & V.A.O.Dittrich
Cranfillia fluviatilis (R.Br.) Gasper & V.A.O.Dittrich has ladderlike fronds that grow up to 50 cm (20 in) long. It forms a distinctive ground-hugging rosette: dark brown, spiky fertile fronds grow upright from the center of the rosette, while drooping sterile fronds with nearly round leaflets make up the outer rosette. As the original parent plant ages, it develops a short trunk at the center of a surrounding colony formed by the species. This small, hardy ground fern requires moist, shaded conditions to grow optimally. It is native to New Zealand and southeast Australia. Across New Zealand, it is common throughout the country, growing in damp, shady areas in acidic, moist, boggy soil next to streams in forested regions. It occurs across most of New Zealand's forests, including much of the forested area of the North Island, the west, north, and south coasts of the South Island, and Stewart Island / Rakiura. It also grows in parts of the coastal forests of southeast Australia. In the mixed broadleaf/podocarp forests of Stewart Island / Rakiura, one documented understory plant associate of Cranfillia fluviatilis is Austroblechnum durum.
