''Schizaea rupestris'' is a small Australian

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 ...

. Most populations are in found in the

ranges In the Hebrew Bible and in the Old Testament, the word ranges has two very different meanings. Leviticus In Leviticus 11:35, ranges probably means a cooking furnace for two or more pots, as the Hebrew word here is in the dual number; or perhaps ...

near Sydney. However, it also occurs near

Woolgoolga Woolgoolga is a town on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia. It is on the Pacific Highway (Australia), Pacific Highway, approximately 550 km north of Sydney and 365 km south of Brisbane. The closest city to Woolgoolga is ...

and Western Australia. The fern is a mat-shaped plant from which arise slender upright fronds composed of a single unbranched blade. Infertile fronds are 5–12 cm high and 1–2.5 mm wide, while the rarer fertile fronds are 8–20 cm high. Thinner than the infertile fronds, the fertile fronds are topped with a tiny combed reproductive growth. These are 3 to 16 mm long. ''Schizaea rupestris'' is found between Walpole and Torbay Hill in Western Australia, between latitudes 33° and 36°S in the Great Dividing Range in New South Wales. A small grass-like plant, it often occurs in moist areas such as near waterfalls, or shaded areas of sandstone shelves or caves. The generic name ''Schizaea'' is from the Greek, meaning "to cleave or split", ''rupestris'' means near rocks.Les Robinson – Field Guide to the Native Plants of Sydney, page 319 It first appeared in scientific literature in the year 1810, in the ''

Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen ''Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen'' (Prodromus of the Flora of New Holland and Van Diemen's Land) is a flora of Australia written by botanist Robert Brown and published in 1810. Often referred to as ''Prodromus Flora Novae ...

'', published by the prolific Scottish botanist, Robert Brown.

References

Schizaeales Flora of New South Wales Flora of Western Australia Ferns of Australia Plants described in 1810 {{Polypodiidae-stub