Comments on: Is your hen and chickens fern a fake?

By: Ferns of Bristol’s stone walls « Te Papa's Blog

Ferns of Bristol’s stone walls « Te Papa's Blog — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 07:23:24 +0000

[…] The spleenwort or Asplenium ferns seem to be the most common ferns of this habitat. This genus also occurs in New Zealand and includes our hen and chickens fern. […]

By: NZ fern colonises Australia, twice « Te Papa’s Blog

NZ fern colonises Australia, twice « Te Papa’s Blog — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 22:38:50 +0000

[...] spleenwort fern, or Asplenium hookerianum, is a close relative of the hen & chickens ferns. Hooker’s spleenwort is widespread and common in New Zealand, but rare in Australia, with only a [...]

By: Leon Perrie

Leon Perrie — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 23:22:54 +0000

Hi Margaret,
Thanks for the observation.
Older fronds will eventually collapse to the ground too.
Leon

By: Margaret

Margaret — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 06:29:03 +0000

I have noticed here (SI West Coast) that our H&C fern fronds are often lowered to the ground by ?heavy rain which facilitates direct contact with the soil for the bulbils to grow

By: Kate

Kate — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 08:19:53 +0000

Sorry, I scrolled down too quickly. It seems you have answered my question already.

By: Kate

Kate — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 08:17:20 +0000

When do the “chicken” ferns grow? Does it depend on the season, size or other?

By: Leon

Leon — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 22:12:11 +0000

Hi Melissa,
I’m not sure how to age a hen and chicken fern other than bigger plants are generally older than smaller plants. They are fairly slow growing, and bad growing conditions will hamper them further.
[I have heard of people measuring the growth of the rhizome (the "root", which is more of less horizontal in hen & chickens ferns) over a year, and then extrapolating the total age from the total length of the rhizome. That doesn't account for the junior years of the fern. But it has suggested that crown ferns (Blechnum discolor), which are similarly sized to the bigger hen & chickens ferns, can live for several decades.]
Even small hen & chickens ferns can produce bulbils. But bigger plants obviously produce more bulbils. I suspect bulbil production can be influcened by environmental conditions, but I’m not sure exactly how (perhaps more bulbils in wetter, darker conditions?). Bulbil production, even amongst Asplenium bulbiferum plants (or amongst Asplenium xlucrosum plants), does seem quite variable, and perhaps it has a genetic basis. Of course, A. gracillimum generally produces very few bulbils (usually none, or only a few towards the tip of the frond).
On a given frond, it takes about a year for bulbils to start to form. The bulbils are only at their best – each with several little fronds – after the mother frond reaches two or three years of age.
You can spot the positions where bulbils will form even before they start producing little fronds; they first appear as tufts of little black scales on the upper surface of the mother frond.

By: Melissa

Melissa — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 10:09:41 +0000

Hi i was wondering how you are able to tell the age of a hen and chicken fern and whether or not the length or age has anything to do with the amount or number of bulbils on each fern.

By: Talking Australian Plants « Te Papa’s Blog

Talking Australian Plants « Te Papa’s Blog — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 09:16:59 +0000

[...] Hen & chickens ferns. [...]

By: Leon Perrie

Leon Perrie — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 01:28:23 +0000

Asplenium haurakiense probably is edible (holds for all of the NZ Asplenium ferns). However, it is usually a fairly small fern, so the pikopiko or unfurling new fronds are going to be quite small, and you’d need a lot of plants to get a decent quantity.
Hen & chickens fern has the advantage of being quite a big plant, so you can get a decent sized pikopiko from them.
You could also try shining spleenwort (= huruhuruwhenua or Asplenium oblongifolium). It also grows fairly big, and tolerates dry conditions, so it might do well under the pohutukawa. It’s probably also easier to get hold of than Asplenium haurakiense.