Cyrtomium C.Presl

1 species naturalized AUST.; Qld, N.S.W., Vic., S.A.

*Cyrtomium falcatum (L.f.) C.Presl

Tufted terrestrial plants 30–60 cm high. Rhizome erect, short, densely clothed with broad, fimbriate, reddish brown scales. Fronds 1-pinnate. Pinnae 3–7 pairs, with an entire or 3-cleft terminal pinna, coriaceous, glossy, falcate, lanceolate to ovate, shortly petiolulate, auriculate on the acroscopic side at the base, 6–10 cm long, 2–4 cm broad; the margin incised with sharp teeth; the apex acuminate. Main rhachis brown or red-brown, clothed with fibrillose scales. Veins anadromous, anastomosing to form large areolae each with 1–3 free veinlets in each areola. Sori orbicular, dorsal on the veins, uniformly covering the lower surface. Indusium peltate, rather persistent, glabrous, fawn; the margin erose. Sporangia each with a narrow pedicel; annulus including 14–16 thick-walled cells. Spores bilateral, monolete, brown, globoso-ellipsoidal, covered with balloon-like wings. Garden escape in coastal Sydney suburbs. In crevices of cliffs above high-water mark and on old tramway cuttings near the ocean. A cultivar derived from a native of Japan, Korea and China. Holly Fern