Schizaea fistulosa
Labill. Narrow Comb-fernRhizome buried to depth of only 2–4 cm. Fronds close together along rhizome, erect and often intertwined, unbranched, 10–60 cm long, usually less than 0.6 mm diam., wiry; stipe brown near base then green; lamina hardly distinct from stipe, rounded, horse-shoe shaped in cross-section with groove on back of comb (grooves along two stomatal rows on pinnae side of lamina absent or only slight), green, smooth with scattered tiny, brown, glandular hairs. Sterile fronds short and unbranched but rarely found. Fertile fronds with combs 10–20 mm long, 1–4 mm wide, 3.5–8 times longer than broad; pinnae bearing sporangia with narrow, forward-pointing lobes having coarsely fringed margins.
GleP, VVP, GipP, OtP, GGr, EGL, EGU, WPro, OtR, Strz. All States except Qld. New Zealand, New Caledonia, Malaysia, Madagascar Is., Chile. Usually in wet or open heath-land, particularly near the coast. The spindly fronds use other vegetation for support and often twist into loose coils.
See taxonomic notes under S. bifida.
Entwisle, T.J. (1994). Ferns and allied plants (Psilophyta, Lycopodiophyta, Polypodiophyta). In: Walsh, N.G.; Entwisle, T.J., Flora of Victoria Vol. 2, Ferns and Allied Plants, Conifers and Monocotyledons, pp. 13–111. Inkata Press, Melbourne.
Spinning
