Perennials > Asplenium > Asplenium australasicum > Asplenium australasicum
Asplenium australasicum
Bird's Nest Fern, Crow's Nest Fern, Nest Fern
Origin: Queensland to southern New South Wales, as well as New Guineae, the Pacific Island, and Asia. First described by the English botanist John Smith in 1857.
| Family |
| Aspleniaceae |
| Genus |
| Asplenium |
| Species |
| australasicum |
| Category |
| Perennials |
| Type |
| Ferns |
| Synonyms |
| Asplenium nidus |
| Height |
| 0.5 - 1.5 m |
| Spread |
| 1 - 3 m |
Photographs
Cultivars
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Description and Growing Information
Flowering Period
| Landscape |
| Container planting. |
| Cultivation |
| Partial-shade. Moist, well-drained soil with acidic and neutral pH. Loamy, sandy loam and clay loam. Tolerates moderate frost. |
| Shape |
| Large and nest-shapped. |
| Pests |
| Vulnerable to rotting. |
| Habitat |
| Rainforests. |
| Leaf Description |
| Large, elliptical-shaped fronds arising from a central stem that forms a deep, saucer shape. The fronds can be 3 m in diameter. The spores on the underside of the fronds occur in parallel rows. |
| Flower Description |
| Deep rosettes. |
| Colour Description |
| The rosettes are yellowish-green. The fronds are green. |
| Notable Specimens |
| Kings Park and Botanical Garden, Perth, Australia. |
| Propagation |
| Propagation from spores. |
| Ethnobotanical Uses (Disclaimer) |
| Young fronds when cooked are eatable and are gaining a reputation as a delicacy. |
References
Ohlsen DJ, Perrie LR, Shepherd LD, Brownsey PJ, Bayly MJ (2015). "Phylogeny of the fern family Aspleniaceae in Australasia and the south-western Pacific". Australian Systematic Botany.
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