Psilotum nudum

Skeleton Fork-fern at Westcourt, QLD

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Identification history

	Psilotum nudum	28 Jun 2025	JasonPStewartNMsnc2016
	Psilotum nudum	22 Sep 2024	JasonPStewartNMsnc2016

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User's notes

A wild skeleton fork fern (fern–ally), which evidently has grown in this decades old, planted, nature strip, street tree . _Psilotum nudum_ confer with _Psilotum complantum .

3 comments

Tapirlord wrote:

3 Dec 2024

It looks more like what I know of P.nudum to me just at a glance. Were you unsure or?

JasonPStewartNMsnc2016 wrote:

3 Dec 2024

I reckon *Psilotum nudum* too,
yet systematically following the botanical keys i read at the time says *Psilotum nudum* usually does not have as flattened stems as this sighting's and pointing somewhat towards *P. complanatum* genes (one of the motivations for sharing this sighting here, as i have other clearly *Psilotum nudum* sightings not in here) .

Introgressions happen a lot in plants especially in ferns and especially in edge areas or disturbed areas .

At this location this small area of street tree, is surrounded by largely treeless suburbia, so in evolutionary time scale terms quite unusual habitat for this species and we anticipate unusual interactions .

Clearly detecting introgression and evidencing it sufficiently to publish is a whole 'nother level of work (of course).

JasonPStewartNMsnc2016 wrote:

28 Jun 2025

Made time to again look into this, including with a small comparison specimen from a plant growing wild in a suburban road side traffic management area garden bed amongst its planted shrubs .

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Location information

Coordinates 145.751708 -16.927078
Altitude 12.9m
Places Westcourt, QLD

Sighting information

2 Abundance
3 Aug 2024 02:12 PM Recorded on
JasonPStewartNMsnc2016 Recorded by
Collections
Rainforest Plants across Au, including fruiting basic info – JasonPStewartNMsnc2016 NatureMapr North Queensland Ferns and Clubmosses Plants

Additional information

10cm to 30cm Plant height

Species information

Psilotum nudum Scientific name
Skeleton Fork-fern Common name
Not Sensitive
Local native
Non-invasive or negligible
Up to 55m Recorded at altitude
Machine learning
External link More information

Record quality

Images or audio
More than one media file
Verified by an expert moderator
Nearby sighting(s) of same species
GPS evidence of location
Description
Additional attributes

Australian Capital Territory

New South Wales

Queensland

Northern Territory

Western Australia

South Australia

Victoria

Tasmania