giant pig fern

Hypolepis dicksonioides

Habit: Large ground fern.

Claims to fame: Was not originally planted in Bush City, but has self-introduced.

Distribution/ecology: Scattered through the North Island and northern South Island.  Also occurs on some Pacific Islands.  Uncommon in Wellington.  Like other pig ferns (Hypolepis), tends to occur in open, disturbed areas.

Relationships: Amongst the relatives of the pig ferns are bracken (rarauhe, Pteridium esculentum), water fern (Histiopteris incisa), and ring fern (Paesia scaberula), which are all common ferns in New Zealand.

Identification: Large (> 1.5 m), hairy, finely-divided fronds produced from along a creeping axis, with the reproductive structures each protected by a fold of the margin of the fronds.  Similar to the common pig fern (Hypolepis ambigua) which is much more frequently encountered.

Bush City locations: On the lower track (12).