''Diplazium melanochlamys'' is a ground

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes exce ...

only found on

Lord Howe Island Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland P ...

in the relatively remote Pacific Ocean between Australia and New Zealand. A common plant growing in forest. Most often seen on the southern half of the island. It can be seen between sea level and the summits of

Mount Gower Mount Gower (also known as Big Hill), is the highest mountain on Australia's subtropical Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea. With a height of above sea level, and a relatively flat summit plateau, it stands at the southern end of Lord Howe, just ...

and

Mount Lidgbird Mount Lidgbird, also Mount Ledgbird and Big Hill, is located in the southern section of Lord Howe Island, just north of Mount Gower, from which it is separated by the saddle at the head of Erskine Valley, and has its peak at above sea level. ...

. The fronds are up to a metre long, and 60 cm wide. It may develop a trunk of up to 50 cm tall. The covering of the sori is a shining dark brown, almost black.

References

melanochlamys Taxa named by William Jackson Hooker Endemic flora of Lord Howe Island Ferns of Australia Plants described in 1861 {{Polypodiales-stub