Fern with nest-like habit. Rhizome erect, scaly, unbranched with a single growing point. Fronds ± straight, arising in a regular rosette at a small angle to vertical. Stipe indistinct, 1–3 cm long, 6–15 mm wide. Rachis in cross-section flat on upper surface, acutely keeled below. Lamina narrowly obovate, simple, 50–175 (–250) cm long, 6–20 cm wide, shiny green, ± glabrous; bases narrowly cuneate; margins entire, rarely irregularly incised and cristate; apices acute or obtuse; veins free except for a marginal connection. Sori very numerous, close together; longest 16–60 mm long, extending from midrib, usually occupying more than half the width of the lamina. Perispores pale with fimbriate broad ridges and fenestrate lacunae; exospores 44.1–47.9 × 27.6–32.8 µm (means).
Common as an epiphyte on tree trunks, or on rocks or banks in rainforest and wet sclerophyll forest, producing a large nest-like growth form.
Asplenium australasicum is a hardy fern that can be grown mounted on a tree or planted in soil in tropical to temperate climates and is the most frequently grown bird-nest Asplenium in Australia. Asplenium australasicum f. robinsonii features on two Norfolk Island 50c postage stamps as part of a Norfolk Island 2008 ferns set.
Home