A review of the fern genus Sticherus (Gleicheniaceae) in New Zealand with confirmation of two new species records

Figures & data

Table 1  Diagnostic characters for southern Australian and New Zealand species of Sticherus (from Garrett et al. 1998, supplemented with data for New Zealand material of S. cunninghamii and S. flabellatus).

	S. cunninghamii	S. lobatus	S. tener	S. urceolatus	S. flabellatus
Angle between paired proximal costae (primary branches)	(35–)44(–60)°	(40–)75–80(–110)°	(55–)70(–90)°	(45–)50(–75)°	(20–)30(–45)°
Mean ratio of length of ultimate leaflet (ultimate branch) to proximal costa (primary branch)	(12–)15(–22):1	6:1	4.3:1	5.7:1	(10–)15.5(–28):1
Presence of ultimate segments on proximal costa (primary branch)	occasional to absent	present	present	occasional to absent	usually absent
Shape of ultimate leaflet (ultimate branch)	narrowly elliptic to narrowly ovate	narrowly oblong to narrowly elliptic	linear or narrowly oblong	narrowly elliptic, occasionally with a caudate apex	narrowly elliptic, often with a caudate apex
Length of ultimate segments (mm)	7–18	20–30	8–15(–28)	(13–)15–27(–45)	20–40
Width of ultimate segments (mm)	1–3	2–3	2–3	2–3	1.5–2
Margin of ultimate segments	entire	entire	entire	entire or occasionally serrate at apices	serrate
Scales on underside of ultimate segments	broad, bicoloured, fimbriate scales on costae; long hair-like scales on surfaces	scales lacking on costae; glabrous or sometimes hair-like scales on surfaces	narrow, brown, fimbriate scales on costae; hair-like scales on surfaces	occasional, narrow, brown, fimbriate scales on costae; hair-like scales on surfaces	occasional, very narrow, brown, fimbriate scales on costae; glabrous, or hair-like scales on surfaces
Colour of ultimate segment undersurfaces	usually white/glaucous	green	green	green	green
Angle of ultimate segments to costa	(55–)65(–70)°	80–85°	80–85°	55–65°	50–60°

Figure 1  A, Sticherus tener (same site as Perrie 6636-6639 & Gemmell, 26 May 2012, Denniston, WELT P023789). B, Sticherus urceolatus (Perrie 6613 et al., 25 May 2012, Stockton, WELT P023791). The yellowish colour of this S. urceolatus plant is a reflection of its exposed habitat.

Figure 2  One of the two most parsimonious trees of the Sticherus trnL-trnF DNA sequence data. Branch lengths are MINF-optimized. The other tree has Sticherus cunninghamii sister to Sticherus flabellatus/Sticherus urceolatus. The Appendix contains sample details.