About Leptopteris superba (Colenso) C.Presl
Leptopteris superba (Colenso) C.Presl, commonly known as Prince of Wales feathers or common crape fern, is a fern species belonging to the genus Leptopteris. This species is endemic to New Zealand, where it is found across the North Island, South Island, and Stewart Island. On the North Island, it occurs in Northland, Auckland, Volcanic Plateau, Gisborne, Taranaki, and Southern North Island; on the South Island, it is found in Western Nelson, Sounds-Nelson, Westland, Canterbury, Otago, and Southland Fiordland. Its altitudinal range spans from 0 to 1600 m above sea level. L. superba has a mostly southern distribution, occurring from Mt. Te Aroha southwards, with only two exceptions: an isolated record published in Rawlings 1972 from approximately 700 m in Waipoua Forest (voucher specimen CHR 191223), and a 19th-century collection made by E.M. Smith from Little Barrier Island (voucher specimen AK 119092). In the North Island, it is common in montane forest from Te Aroha to Wellington, growing from around 250 m up to 1400 m on Maungapōhatu in the Urewera Ranges. In the South Island, it is abundant in wet forest on the west side of the Main Divide, in the Marlborough Sounds, and around Dunedin and the Catlins, and its range extends to Stewart Island. It grows from sea level in Fiordland up to around 1600 m in the Takitimu Ranges near Monowai. This fern is characterized by large fronds, which are approximately one meter in length, with large sporangia on their undersides. The fronds are elliptical in shape, similar to the fronds of Ostrich Fern. It grows in habitats from wet lowlands to montane forests. A distinctive feature of L. superba is that its leaves are only a single cell thick.
