Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Nephrolepis acutifolia

It was a day to have a potential last look at some beautiful old seawalls before they are torn down by the MRT development at Marine Parade Road but turned out to be a surprised encounter with a rare fern called Nephrolepis acutifolia. Thank you,  Stuart Lindsay, for pointing out my initial mistaken identification. It can be found on a rain tree at Marine Parade Road and a few locations such as Portsdown and SBG. Considered as an endangered species in Singapore. 

old seawall and gate
old seawall and steps
old ornated gate
Frond 1.5 to 2m long.
Pinnate frond
Sorus marginal; indusium running almost the entire length of both adaxial and abaxial margin of pinna. 
lanceolate pinnae
Can you see the sporangia peeping out from the knife edge of the margin?
Brown non-persistent scales at the base of stipes
Long slender stipes
Stipe and rachis grooved above
Fiddlehead
Wiry roots with green tips
Rain tree festooned with ferns
Young fern destined for Chek Jawa for planting
Watch this space: spores broadcast into the gaps of an old kampong stone wall in Pulau Ubin!