Selaginella hordeiformis (?). A lycophyte rather than a fern. No Selaginella are native to New Zealand, but conservationists and gardeners may be misfortunate to be familiar with the introduced Selaginella kraussiana. Despite the latter’s diminutive stature, it carpets the floor of wet forests (and gardens), choking regeneration. New Caledonia is home to several Selaginella species that produce erect ‘fronds’, although none as big as Fiji’s Selaginella viridangula which can be over 1.5 m tall! Photo Leon Perrie. © Te Papa.
