Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2025L00287:reg:3:p248
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2025L00287
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 3 (pt 248/276)
Character Range: 906684–909932

500                          100% within the national park  No decline

Relevant literature
Mills K (2024) Personal communication by email, 11 January 2024, plant ecologist.
Orchard A (ed) (1994) Flora of Australia. Vol. 49. Oceanic Islands 1. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.
Renner MAM & Beadel SM (2011) Taeniophyllum norfolkianum: a second genus of Vandeae (Orchidaceae) indigenous to New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 49(3), 435-439.
Sykes W & Atkinson I (1988) Rare and Endangered Plants of Norfolk Island. Unpublished report to the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service, Norfolk Island.
TSSC (Threatened Species Scientific Committee) (2003b) Commonwealth Listing Advice for Norfolk Island Flora - 15 Vulnerable Species.

Tmesipteris norfolkensis—hanging fork-fern
Family PSILOTACEAE

Conservation significance
Endemic to Norfolk Island.
EPBC Act Listing Status: Vulnerable.

Description
A small, pendulous epiphytic fern with branches growing to 25 cm long.

Distribution and abundance
Tmesipteris norfolkensis has been recorded on the south-east slopes of Mount Pitt and between Palm Glen and Red Road (Orchard 1994). It appears to be restricted to moist forests and is most common on the southern side of the mountains rather than the drier northern side (Mills 2007e).
There were fewer than 500 mature plants recorded in 2003 (TSSC 2003b), with most occurring in damp and shady valleys of the Mt Pitt section of the Norfolk Island National Park, where it grows on the lower part of tree fern trunks (Sykes & Atkinson 1988).
The distribution is shown in Map 64.

Ecology
An epiphyte that grows in damp conditions and uses several native hardwoods as hosts but prefers the fibrous base of the tree ferns Sphaeropteris excelsa (under 1 m from the ground) and Alsophila australis norfolkensis.
Most plants grow on the downhill side of the trunks of the tree ferns (Mills 2007e).

Habitat
Grows in damp and shady places and prefers the deep moist valleys of the southern side of the mountains.

Threats
Threats to the species include habitat degradation, catastrophic events such as severe storms, and climate change.

Impact on other species
Grows on tree ferns and on several hardwood tree hosts.
Map 64 Distribution of Tmesipteris norfolkensis
Green outlines indicate reserves within which the species occurs.

Risk assessment
Risk assessment undertaken for Vulnerable ferns as a grouping. The risk assessment is shown in Table 147.
Table 147 Risk assessment for Vulnerable ferns as a grouping
Risk                                                                                                               Likelihood of exposure    Consequence  Threat rating
1. Loss and fragmentation of native vegetation through past land clearing                                          Almost certain (91–100%)  Extreme      Extreme
2. Loss and fragmentation of native vegetation through current or future land clearing                             Rare (0–10%)              Negligible   Negligible
3. Degradation of native vegetation through past grazing or loss of nutrients                                      Almost certain (91–100%)  Extreme      Extreme
4. Degradation of native vegetation through current