''Pteris tremula'', commonly known as Australian brake, tender brake, tender brakefern, shaking brake is a

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 except t ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of the family Pteridaceae native to sheltered areas and forests in eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It has pale green, lacy fronds of up to in length, with an erect, tufted

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

that is covered with narrow brown scales. It is fast-growing and easy to grow in cultivation, but can become weedy.

Taxonomy

The botanist Robert Brown published this plant in the year 1810, in his '' Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae'', and still bears its original name. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''tremula'' is the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

"tremulous" or "shaking". It is a member of the large genus ''

Pteris ''Pteris'' (brake) is a genus of about 300 species of ferns in the subfamily Pteridoideae of the family Pteridaceae. They are native to tropical and subtropical regions, southward to New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa, north to Japan an ...

'', containing around 300 species, 7 of which can be found in Australia. ''Tender brake'' is a common name for the fern. Species in ''Pteris'' are currently placed in subfamily

Pteridoideae ''Pteridoideae'' is one of the five subfamilies of the fern family Pteridaceae. This subfamily contains about 14 genera and around 400 species. Taxonomy Phylogeny The following diagram shows a likely phylogenic relationship between Pteridoideae ...

of family Pteridaceae/

Varieties

* ''Pteris tremula'' var. ''caudata'' * ''Pteris tremula'' var. ''minor'' * ''Pteris tremula'' var. ''pectinata'' * ''Pteris tremula'' var. ''tremula''

Description

''Pteris tremula'' is a terrestrial fern, with its fronds arising from the ground up to , rarely up to tall. The stipe is brown. The light green lacy compound fronds may reach in length and are 3-pinnate or more. The brownish sori line the undersides of the frond margins. Unlike ''

Pteris vittata ''Pteris vittata'', commonly known variously as the Chinese brake, Chinese ladder brake, or simply ladder brake, is a fern species in the Pteridoideae subfamily of the Pteridaceae. It is indigenous to Asia, southern Europe, tropical Africa and Au ...

'' and other ''Pteris'' species, it is not able to

hyperaccumulate Phytoremediation technologies use living plants to clean up soil, air and water contaminated with hazardous contaminants. It is defined as "the use of green plants and the associated microorganisms, along with proper soil amendments and agronomi ...

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, but ...

and is damaged by levels as low as 25 mg/kg in the soil. The plant contains two

cytotoxic Cytotoxicity is the quality of being toxic to cells. Examples of toxic agents are an immune cell or some types of venom, e.g. from the puff adder (''Bitis arietans'') or brown recluse spider (''Loxosceles reclusa''). Cell physiology Treating cells ...

indanonic

sesquiterpene Sesquiterpenes are a class of terpenes that consist of three isoprene units and often have the molecular formula C15H24. Like monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes may be cyclic or contain rings, including many unique combinations. Biochemical modificatio ...

Distribution and habitat

The range within Australia is Central Australia (Northern Territory), eastern South Australia, Queensland, eastern New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. It is also found on Lord Howe and

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...

, New Zealand, and the Kermadec Islands and Fiji. It is found in sheltered habitats in wet sclerophyll and rainforest. It has become naturalized in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

near the Río de la Plata.

Cultivation

''Pteris tremula'' is a fairly easy plant to grow in the home garden, where it prefers a shady spot. It prefers fair drainage with some moisture retention in the soil and filtered morning light. It is nevertheless fast growing and has been known to naturalise. In the 1950s it was reported to be the most commonly cultivated ''Pteris'' species in the United States of America.

References

GBIF entry
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q7256693 tremula Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of Victoria (Australia) Plants described in 1810