Gleichenia spp.
coral fern
Southern Hemisphere, including Australia, New Zealand, and southern Africa
Overview
Gleichenia is a genus of scrambling ferns in the family Gleicheniaceae, found mainly in the Southern Hemisphere, including Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, and parts of Asia and Africa. The ferns are known for fronds that fork repeatedly into pairs, with the growing tip resting and then resuming growth again and again, so a single frond can extend for several feet and weave through its neighbors. This habit builds dense, tangled thickets 1-6 feet (0.3-1.8 m) deep over banks, swamp margins, and road cuttings, often to the exclusion of other plants. The wiry, creeping rhizomes run through the soil and send up new fronds along their length. The small leaflets are stiff and often blue-green or grey beneath. Like all ferns, plants reproduce by spores borne in clusters on the underside of the leaflets rather than by flowers or seed. The genus is adapted to poor, acidic, moist soils in open or lightly shaded sites and is associated with disturbed and fire-prone ground. The tangled rhizomes resist transplanting, which makes the genus hard to establish in gardens.
Native Range
Gleichenia is native mainly to the Southern Hemisphere, with species across Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, southern Africa, and montane Asia. The ferns grow on acidic soils in heath, swamp edges, open forest, and exposed banks and road cuttings, often on poor, disturbed ground.Suggested Uses
Grown in bog gardens, pond and stream margins, and native and woodland plantings where its scrambling habit suits informal, damp ground. It is used for bank and slope cover and erosion control on acidic soils. The forked fronds are sometimes cut for foliage in arrangements.How to Identify
Appearance
Size & Dimensions
Height1' - 6'
Width/Spread3' - 10'
Colors
Foliage Colors
Fall Foliage Colors
Bloom Information
As a fern, Gleichenia produces no flowers. Reproduction is by spores, which ripen in small round clusters on the underside of the leaflets, mainly through the warmer months. New plants also arise as the creeping rhizomes spread.
Detailed Descriptions
Foliage Description
blue-greenGrowing Conditions
Sun Requirements
Requires 3-8 hours of direct sunlight daily
• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight
• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight
• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight