- ≡ Osmunda phyllitidis L., Sp. Pl. 1064 (1753)
New Zealand material, comprising one known collection, has the following characteristics. Rhizomes erect, bearing orange-brown hairs. Fronds c. 380 mm long, hemidimorphic. Stipes c. 210 mm long, bearing orange-brown hairs. Sterile portion of each lamina pinnate, ovate, c. 170 mm long, c. 130 mm wide. Primary pinnae in 2–5 pairs below a similar apical pinna, ovate, apices acuminate, the longest c. 80 mm long, 20 mm wide. Rachises bearing orange-brown hairs. Venation reticulate. Basal pair of pinnae fertile, held erect on stalks c. 100 mm long, arising very close to basal pair of sterile pinnae; apical portion skeletonised, 3–4 pinnate, c. 70 mm long, c. 15 mm wide, bearing sporangia in two rows either side of each costa.
North Island: Northland
Altitudinal range: 10 m.
Known as a cultivation escape from one locality in Kerikeri.
Occurs naturally in Mexico, Central and South America (Mickel & Smith 2004).
Reported as growing on a steep, south-facing bank near a site previously occupied by the now-dead parent plant.
Ogle et al. (2021). Voucher AK 327905, 2008.
Anemia phyllitidis is distinguished from its congeners by its pinnate fronds, fertile pinnae that arise very close to the basal pair of sterile pinnae, acuminate pinnae, and reticulate venation involving every vein in each sterile pinna.