Identification Guide to the Ferns and Lycophytes of Aotearoa New Zealand

About this book

Compiled and written by Te Papa's foremost fern experts, this fully illustrated guide is for anyone wanting to understand, identify and distinguish 201 of the most commonly encountered species of ferns and lycophytes found across Aotearoa. Ferns and lycophytes grow in most places in Aotearoa, from freshwater to alpine habitats, along exposed coasts and on the trunks of forest trees, and from just a few millimetres long to 20-metre-tall tree ferns. Just under half of the native species are only found here. Full-colour photographic examples of species, along with diagrams of key features, provide several ways for readers to successfully identify these iconic plants of Aotearoa. The book's manageable size and accessible layout make it easy to use, enabling readers to quickly recognise species and understand their distinguishing characteristics, habitats and distribution.

Contents

- Introduction
- About this guide
- Steps to identifying a fern or lycophyte
- Illustrated glossary
- Guide to genera
- Species scan
- Species profiles
- Appendices
- Acknowledgements
- About the authors
- Index

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Biography

Leon Perrie is Curator of Botany at Te Papa and was the lead science curator for Te Papa's long-term exhibition Te Taiao | Nature. Leon specialises in plant taxonomy and the collection and curation of plant specimens. His research focuses on New Zealand's ferns: their numbers, locations and identification, and using DNA analyses to understand how ferns are related to one another and to species overseas. He was a contributing author for the Ferns and Lycophytes series for the online Flora of New Zealand.

Patrick Brownsey was Curator of Botany at the National Museum of New Zealand and Te Papa for over forty years, and an expert with New Zealand ferns and lycophytes. He was the lead author of the Ferns and Lycophytes series for the online Flora of New Zealand. At the time of writing, he was a Research Associate in Botany and had previously been Head of Natural History at the museum where he also curated the philately (stamps) collection. Pat passed away in late 2023 and this book is a dedication to his work.