Common Name: Narrow Comb Fern
Naturalised Status: Native to Western Australia
Not threatened
Rhizome growing along the ground, covered with dark brown hairs. Fronds growing or situated in a group, standing upright, undivided, 4-60cm long, 0.5mm wide, circular or not precisely circular, a groove on 1 side, with scattered hairs, smooth; sterile fronds similar to spore producing fronds but much shorter, spore producing heads 4-50mm long, usually 5-12 times longer than wide (rarely 2.5-3 times in reduced alpine forms), narrowly triangular to straight or elongated, broadest at or near base, tapering away from point of attachment, straight or slightly curved; segments 2-5mm long, smooth, without hairs or with scattered hairs. Sporangia not mixed with hairs.
Occurs throughout Australia in south western WA, south eastern SA, south eastern NSW, southern Victoria and Tasmania.
Also found in New Zealand, New Caledonia, Borneo, New Guinea, Madagascar, Chile and Falkland Island.
Grows in a wide range of habitats and conditions including wet and open heathlands, on and near raised mounds in swamps and sedgelands in clay, sandy or peaty soils.
As Schizaea fistulosa can grow in a wide range of habitats and conditions, the species is extremely variable in size. In heathland habitats, plants are generally healthier and can grow between 15 to 60 cm tall. Some of the smallest forms are found in the alpine areas in Tasmania where conditions are more extreme and growing periods are shorter. These plants are very compact and grow in dense clumps, with their fronds growing to 4 cm high.
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