Hedycarya arborea < Species index > Hoheria sexstylosa
This article was first published in the Tararua Tramper Volume 96, # 9, October 2024
October in the hills with Michele Dickson, Chris Horne
Histiopteris incisa, mātātā, water fern, bat’s wing fern
Photo: Jeremy Rolfe
Photo: Jeremy Rolfe
Origin of the botanical name
Histiopteris, meaning ‘webbed fern’, comes from the Greek words 'listion' meaning web or woven cloth and ‘pteris’ meaning fern – a reference to the netted veins; ‘incisa’ comes from the Latin word ‘incisus’ meaning cut into, deeply cut. Mātātā / water fern is in the
Distribution
Mātātā / water fern is widely distributed throughout many Pacific islands, Asia, Africa and South America. It is native to New Zealand where it occurs on Manawatāwhi / Three Kings Islands, Te Ika a Māui / North Island, Te Waipounamu / South Island, Rakiura / Stewart Island, Rekohu / Chatham Island and our subantarctic islands.
Growth habit and reproduction
The stipes / stalks of water fern / mātātā are 15 - 90 cm long with scales at the base. The smooth pale-green to bluish-green glabrous / hairless fronds 17 - 22 cm long grow along far-creeping stout rhizomes / underground stems 4-10 mm in diameter which spread horizontally. Frond segments / pinnae are thin and soft to feel, with usually reticulate veins. Sori / sacs which contain spores – the equivalent of seeds produced by flowering plants – line the edges of the fronds. When ripe, the sori are spread by the wind.
Uses
We have been unable to find any references to its uses.
Where to find mātātā / water fern?
It is common everywhere from lowland to subalpine areas, on forest margins, roadsides, thermal areas, in open sites along stream banks and tracks in the bush, especially in moist and disturbed areas. You can see mātātā / water fern in open moist places in the Tararua and Remutaka ranges.