page_title: Polystichum proliferum
section_title: Habitat and distribution
hierarchical_section_title: Polystichum proliferum / Habitat and distribution
caption_attribution_description: English: Photographed at the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney (Australia) in January English: This photo is from Gardenology.org and is available under CC-BY-SA 3.0 license. If you use it, please include attribution to Gardenology.org, with a link if the media allows it. If the name is missing, click here. This work is free and may be used by anyone for any purpose. If you wish to use this content, you do not need to request permission as long as you follow any licensing requirements mentioned on this page. Wikimedia Foundation has received an e-mail confirming that the copyright holder has approved publication under the terms mentioned on this page. This correspondence has been reviewed by an OTRS member and stored in our permission archive. The correspondence is available to trusted volunteers&#160;as ticket #2010122210000934. If you have questions about the archived correspondence, please use the OTRS noticeboard. Ticket link: https://ticket.wikimedia.org/otrs/index.pl?Action=AgentTicketZoom&amp;TicketNumber=2010122210000934
context_page_description: Polystichum proliferum, commonly known as mother shield fern is an Australian endemic fern. The genus name Polystichum is derived from Greek poly - many, and stichos - rows referring to the many rows of sori. The species name is derived from Latin, Proli – offspring and fer - bearing referring to the proliferous buds, a prominent feature of the species.
context_section_description: Polystichum proliferum is widespread and abundant from sea-level to 1300m a.s.l., but predominantly occurs in the tablelands and ranges of New South Wales, Victoria, Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania. At elevation, Polystichum proliferum will occur in amongst boulders and at lower altitudes - in wet forests. The species typically favours gullies and creeks as well as the cooler/moister, southern and eastern facing aspects. Polystichum proliferum will however, occur in drier vegetation types such as coastal scrub and dry schelorphyll, due to its hardy characteristics such as the ability to tolerate salt-laden winds and poor soil quality. Polystichum proliferum is often associated with Dicksonia antarctica gullies, occurring higher up the gullies than Dicksonia antarctica and further away from the watercourse. The close association and similar appearance between the two species has often led novice plant to collectors to misidentify Polystichum proliferum as Dicksonia antarctica.
caption: Mother Shield fern, an Australian endemic
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