Lecanopteris pustulata

Natural range and habitat

Lecanopteris pustulata subsp. pustulata occurs naturally in southeastern Australia, Norfolk Island and New Zealand. It ranges from coastal to mountain forest and may grow on the ground, over rocks, or on trunks and branches as an epiphyte. Creeping rhizomes carry it across these different surfaces, including relatively open or seasonally drier forest sites.

The fern was formerly known as Zealandia pustulata. Botanical studies showed that Zealandia belongs within Lecanopteris, which changed the scientific name but not the plant itself. Many Lecanopteris are ant ferns with hollow rhizomes that house ant colonies. This species has solid rhizomes and does not form those chambers.

Moisture and airflow for healthy fronds

• Propagation: Divide only sections that retain roots and a living growing point. A rhizome piece without an active growing point will not resprout.
• Arrival: Keep the fern in stable filtered light and humidity while it settles. Avoid burying or disturbing the creeping rhizome during the first adjustment period.
• Light: Provide bright shade or filtered light, protected from hard midday sun through glass.
• Water: Maintain even moisture around the roots during growth, then allow excess water to drain so the medium does not remain saturated. Its relative drought tolerance does not mean succulent-style drying.
• Growing medium: Use a coarse bark-rich epiphytic fern mix, or mount the plant where moisture and air can reach the rhizome. Keep the rhizome at or above the surface.
• Humidity, watering and root care: Cool-temperate to mild conditions reflect its broad geographic range. Humidity supports the fronds, while airflow prevents moisture from lingering around the crown and rhizome.
• Feeding: Apply weak dilute fertiliser during active growth. Occasionally run plenty of clean water through the medium because epiphytic roots are sensitive to accumulated salts.

Troubleshooting and practical solutions

• Crisp frond margins: Root-zone drought, direct sun, low humidity and accumulated salts are all possible. Check the medium first, move the fern from harsh sun and flush salts only through a freely draining root zone.
• Yellowing with a dark soft creeping stem: The creeping stem, or rhizome, is beginning to rot because it has remained too wet without enough air. Stop saturation, expose it to air and remove decayed sections from an established plant.
• Sori and hydathodes: Natural spore patches, called sori, form an orderly reproductive pattern and produce no honeydew. Hydathodes, the small water-release pores at vein ends, are also a normal part of the frond.
• Scale insects: Scale forms irregular detachable bumps and may be accompanied by stickiness or sooty mould. If the bumps lift as covers or insects are visible beneath them, isolate the fern, remove accessible scale carefully and use a control labelled as safe for fern foliage.
• White material around the creeping stem: Mealybugs can hide among its natural scales. Look for cottony deposits and insects before treating or scrubbing the stem. When live mealybugs are confirmed, lift visible insects without stripping the natural stem scales and repeat a labelled control at its stated interval.
• Holes in new fronds: Slugs and snails chew soft expanding tissue. Inspect at night and beneath the container, then remove the animals and their hiding places.
• Older fronds browning at the rear: This is normal turnover when the surface stem remains firm and continues producing healthy new growth. Remove only fully dead fronds.

Keep Lecanopteris pustulata away from children and pets

• Keep this plant away from children, cats and dogs.
• Its effects after chewing or swallowing are unclear, and plant material can still cause an upset stomach.
• Contact a veterinarian or medical professional if symptoms develop or do not settle.

What does Lecanopteris pustulata mean, and who first published it?

Lecanopteris combines Greek lekane, meaning basin, with pteris, meaning fern, referring to the hollowed rhizomes found in the genus. The species epithet pustulata means blistered and refers to the raised spore-producing areas on the fronds.

Caspar Georg Carl Reinwardt established the genus Lecanopteris in 1825 in Flora, volume 8, issue 2, supplement, page 48.

Johann Georg Adam Forster first described it as Polypodium pustulatum in 1786 in Flora Insularum Australium, page 81. Leon R. Perrie and Patrick J. Brownsey later placed it in Lecanopteris as Lecanopteris pustulata in 2021 in Blumea, volume 66, page 246.