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Gleichenia spp.

coral fern

Gleicheniaceae

Southern Hemisphere, including Australia, New Zealand, and southern Africa

SunFull Sun – Part Shade

WaterMedium

HardinessZones 9–11

Overview

Gleichenia spp. 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 spp. 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

Look for a low, tangled fern thicket built from fronds that fork repeatedly into equal pairs, each fork separated by a length of bare stalk. The small, stiff leaflets are often blue-green and paler or grey on the underside. The scrambling, repeatedly forked fronds and dense interwoven habit set Gleichenia spp. apart from upright tufted ferns.

Appearance

Size & Dimensions

Height1' - 6'

Width/Spread3' - 10'

Colors

Foliage Colors

green

blue green

Fall Foliage Colors

no change

Bloom Information

As a fern, Gleichenia spp. 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-green

Growing Conditions

Sun Requirements

SunFull Sun SunPartial Shade

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

Soil Requirements

pH Range4.5 - 6.0(Acidic)

357912

Soil Types

sand loam peat

Drainagemoist

Water & Climate

Water Needs

Medium

Frost Tolerance

hardy

Time to Maturity

3-5 years

Care & Maintenance

Care Guide

These ferns grow in full sun to part shade on poor, acidic, moist but free-draining soils, and tolerate exposed sites that many ferns cannot. They need consistent soil moisture at the roots while disliking waterlogging, and they do not tolerate lime or rich feeding. The creeping rhizomes resent disturbance, so divisions and transplants establish slowly and often fail, and plants are difficult to raise from spore. Hardiness suits warm-temperate and subtropical climates, roughly USDA zones 9 to 11, with some tolerance of light frost. The fronds can be cut back after frost or storm damage. Few pests trouble the genus in suitable conditions.

Pruning

Old, damaged, or frost-burnt fronds are cut back to make room for new growth, ahead of the spring flush. The dense thicket can be cut to ground level to renew it, after which fresh fronds rise from the rhizomes. Routine pruning is otherwise minimal.