Psilotum nudum
©Anne Hoggett: Psilotum nudum at Lizard Island Research Station. Thanks to Scott Harte for the genus-level identification and John Clarkson for the species id.
Kingdom
Plantae
Division
Pteridophyta
Class
Polypodiopsida
Order
Psilotales
Family
Psilotaceae
Genus
Psilotum
Species
Psilotum nudum
Colours
Distinguishing features
A short, fern-like plant that branches dichotomously, lacks true roots and leaves, and does not flower, reproducing instead by sporangia.
Size
- Up to 25 cm (height of Lizard Island specimens)
Synonyms
Distribution
©Atlas of Living Australia: Australian distribution
Local abundance
- Lizard Island: Noticed on Lizard Island for the first time in late 2019 at the site where laundry water from LIRS is discharged underground into grassland. That drainage system was installed in 2007. With the additional water source, native Scaevola invaded the grassland. When the Scaevola was cut back in 2019 to preserve the grassland, Psilotum was found in the damp area around the outlet. Despite several previous botanical surveys on the island, Psilotum has never been recorded here so it may have been introduced. A QPWS expert (John Clarkson, 9 Jan 2020) suspects that it exists elsewhere on the island and has just not been recorded.
