Mother Shield-fern - native (Polystichum proliferum)

Family: Aspidiaceae.

Native of SE Australia.

Occurrence: Rare locally. It has been recorded at Wattle Gully (Chewton) and Elphinstone.

Identification:

• it is a 2-pinnate fern
• the fronds are pale green when young and darken when mature
• the stalks are rough with shiny brown scales, which have paler margins
• the leaflets have broad teeth.

polus = many; stickhos = a row or line, referring to the arrangement of spores; proles = offspring; feros = to bear, referring to the ability to produce plantlets at the ends of the fronds.