# Ferns of New Zealand
New Zealand's ferns and lycophytes (ancient spore-bearing plant group including clubmosses) are a group of about 270 spore-producing vascular plant species.
| Fact | Figure |
|---|---|
| Total species (May 2026 checklist) | 272 species in 79 genera, 32 families, and 14 orders [1](https://datastore.landcareresearch.co.nz/dataset/22151919-0136-453f-a6f1-6ba034340647/resource/32bbbfce-2d6e-42a7-9e01-1bbe77db8174/download/checklist-of-the-new-zealand-flora-ferns-and-lycophytes-may-2026.pdf) |
| Endemic species | 92 endemic, 115 non-endemic indigenous, 65 exotic [1](https://datastore.landcareresearch.co.nz/dataset/22151919-0136-453f-a6f1-6ba034340647/resource/32bbbfce-2d6e-42a7-9e01-1bbe77db8174/download/checklist-of-the-new-zealand-flora-ferns-and-lycophytes-may-2026.pdf) |
| Endemism rate | 45% of indigenous taxa, versus 82% for seed plants [2](https://www.nzflora.info/pdfs/FloraOfNewZealand-Ferns-%E2%85%A0-BrownseyPerrie-2022-Introduction.pdf) |
| Largest family | Hymenophyllaceae, 31 species, 17 endemic [2](https://www.nzflora.info/pdfs/FloraOfNewZealand-Ferns-%E2%85%A0-BrownseyPerrie-2022-Introduction.pdf) |
| Largest genus | Blechnum, 27 species; Asplenium and Hymenophyllum 24 each [2](https://www.nzflora.info/pdfs/FloraOfNewZealand-Ferns-%E2%85%A0-BrownseyPerrie-2022-Introduction.pdf) |
| Shared with Australia | 100 of 114 widespread indigenous taxa [2](https://www.nzflora.info/pdfs/FloraOfNewZealand-Ferns-%E2%85%A0-BrownseyPerrie-2022-Introduction.pdf) |
| Endemic genus | Probably one only, Loxsoma; no endemic families [2](https://www.nzflora.info/pdfs/FloraOfNewZealand-Ferns-%E2%85%A0-BrownseyPerrie-2022-Introduction.pdf) |
| Australia for comparison | 528 species and subspecies in 134 genera, 208 endemic [3](https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/66277/) |
## Diversity and endemism
The authoritative count depends on the date. The *Flora of New Zealand – Ferns and Lycophytes*, published in November 2022 after more than a decade of work and based on about 70,000 herbarium collections, records 268 species and 10 subspecies, of which 94 of the 208 indigenous taxa are endemic [2](https://www.nzflora.info/pdfs/FloraOfNewZealand-Ferns-%E2%85%A0-BrownseyPerrie-2022-Introduction.pdf) • [4](https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/site/assets/files/0/72/902/trilepidea_march_2023_final.pdf). The official Allan Herbarium checklist of May 2026 records 272 species, with 92 endemic, 115 non-endemic indigenous, and 65 exotic [1](https://datastore.landcareresearch.co.nz/dataset/22151919-0136-453f-a6f1-6ba034340647/resource/32bbbfce-2d6e-42a7-9e01-1bbe77db8174/download/checklist-of-the-new-zealand-flora-ferns-and-lycophytes-may-2026.pdf). The August 2023 checklist stood at 268 species with 89 endemic, so the flora has gained a net four species since late 2023, and taxa at or below species rank rose from 259 to 263 [5](https://datastore.landcareresearch.co.nz/dataset/63d5583b-edd3-48c8-8114-8d7f7b97a50f/resource/06f84c8b-f0d6-472c-9e1b-3b14f8f46f3b/download/checklistofthenewzealandflora-fernsandlycophytesaugust2023.pdf).
A 1985 classification recorded 211 species, of which 22 were adventive and 189 native, with 89 native species (47%) believed endemic [6](https://doi.org/10.1080/0028825x.1985.10425348). Sixty years after H.H. Allan's 1961 *Flora*, two additional families, 12 genera, and 40 species of indigenous ferns, and lycophytes had been recognized in New Zealand [4](https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/site/assets/files/0/72/902/trilepidea_march_2023_final.pdf).
**Endemism is moderate by New Zealand standards.** Forty-five percent of indigenous fern and lycophyte taxa are endemic, compared with 82% for seed plants, 48% for liverworts, and 23% for mosses [2](https://www.nzflora.info/pdfs/FloraOfNewZealand-Ferns-%E2%85%A0-BrownseyPerrie-2022-Introduction.pdf). There are no endemic families, and probably only one genuinely endemic genus, *Loxsoma* [2](https://www.nzflora.info/pdfs/FloraOfNewZealand-Ferns-%E2%85%A0-BrownseyPerrie-2022-Introduction.pdf).
## Notable genera and species
**Filmy ferns lead the family list.** [Hymenophyllaceae](https://www.edgepedia.org/hymenophyllaceae) is the largest family with 31 species, all indigenous, and the most endemic species of any family (17) [2](https://www.nzflora.info/pdfs/FloraOfNewZealand-Ferns-%E2%85%A0-BrownseyPerrie-2022-Introduction.pdf).
**Blechnum is the largest genus**, with 27 species (25 indigenous, 15 endemic), followed by *Hymenophyllum* and *Asplenium* with 24 species each [2](https://www.nzflora.info/pdfs/FloraOfNewZealand-Ferns-%E2%85%A0-BrownseyPerrie-2022-Introduction.pdf). *Asplenium* is also the hybrid capital of the flora: 63 hybrid combinations are supported by herbarium specimens, 37 of them in *Asplenium* [2](https://www.nzflora.info/pdfs/FloraOfNewZealand-Ferns-%E2%85%A0-BrownseyPerrie-2022-Introduction.pdf).
**Tree ferns reach their southern limit here.** Eight species grow in mainland New Zealand, and two, *Cyathea milnei* and *C. kermadecensis*, are known only from the [Kermadec Islands](https://www.edgepedia.org/kermadec-islands) [7](https://teara.govt.nz/mi/ferns-and-lycophytes/page-3). Mamaku (*Cyathea medullaris*) and gully fern (*C. cunninghamii*) grow to over 20 meters, and the soft tree fern (*C. smithii*) is the world's southernmost tree fern, growing on the [Auckland Islands](https://www.edgepedia.org/auckland-islands) at 50°S [7](https://teara.govt.nz/mi/ferns-and-lycophytes/page-3).
## Origins and biogeography
**Most of the flora is shared, not unique.** Of 114 widespread indigenous taxa, 103 (90%) are shared with temperate regions, including 100 with Australia and its offshore islands [2](https://www.nzflora.info/pdfs/FloraOfNewZealand-Ferns-%E2%85%A0-BrownseyPerrie-2022-Introduction.pdf). Phylogenetic evidence indicates that long-distance dispersal is frequent in ferns, with New Zealand and the Pacific Islands a major source area [8](https://doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.16062).
Phylogenetic work on [Blechnaceae](https://www.edgepedia.org/blechnaceae), a family of roughly 265 species worldwide, shows the family originated in Eurasia and began diversifying in the late [Cretaceous](https://www.edgepedia.org/cretaceous), with a major lineage diversifying in the austral Pacific around the [Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum](https://www.edgepedia.org/paleocene-eocene-thermal-maximum) [8](https://doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.16062). New Zealand and the Pacific Islands act as a major source region for long-distance dispersal, with at least 20 subsequent migration events out of the region, mostly within the last 10 million years [8](https://doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.16062).
Blechnaceae are also overrepresented in New Zealand, making up 11% of the fern flora against 2.5% of global fern diversity, a pattern the authors link to cold tolerance and about 50 million years of in-situ diversification [8](https://doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.16062). Species richness in the family peaks around 20°S, with speciation rates highest between 20° and 40°S, and New Zealand and the Pacific Islands hold 46 species, 32 of them endemic [8](https://doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.16062).
## Island floras: Kermadec, Chatham and the subantarctic
Regional totals fall off with latitude and isolation. The [North Island](https://www.edgepedia.org/north-island) holds 248 taxa (91% of the flora) and the [South Island](https://www.edgepedia.org/south-island) 181 (67%); the [Chatham Islands](https://www.edgepedia.org/chatham-islands) 111 (41%), Stewart Island 93 (34%), and the Kermadecs 52 (19%) [2](https://www.nzflora.info/pdfs/FloraOfNewZealand-Ferns-%E2%85%A0-BrownseyPerrie-2022-Introduction.pdf). Forty-one taxa (20% of indigenous taxa) are confined north of Cook Strait and only 13 (6%) south of it, and the North Island has 98% of native genera against the South Island's 76% [2](https://www.nzflora.info/pdfs/FloraOfNewZealand-Ferns-%E2%85%A0-BrownseyPerrie-2022-Introduction.pdf).
Genuine island endemics are few: four taxa are endemic to the Kermadecs, including the tree ferns *Cyathea milnei* and *C. kermadecensis*, and one to the Chathams [2](https://www.nzflora.info/pdfs/FloraOfNewZealand-Ferns-%E2%85%A0-BrownseyPerrie-2022-Introduction.pdf) • [7](https://teara.govt.nz/mi/ferns-and-lycophytes/page-3). Ten taxa are confined to the Kermadec Islands and 17 to the North Island [2](https://www.nzflora.info/pdfs/FloraOfNewZealand-Ferns-%E2%85%A0-BrownseyPerrie-2022-Introduction.pdf).
## Conservation, threats, and recent developments
Nine taxa are Nationally Critical: the tetraploid cytotype of *[Asplenium trichomanes](https://www.edgepedia.org/asplenium-trichomanes)*, *Botrychium lunaria*, *Davallia tasmanii* subsp. *cristata*, *Hymenophyllum polyanthos*, *Ophioglossum petiolatum*, *[Sticherus tener](https://www.edgepedia.org/sticherus-tener)*, *S. urceolatus*, *Trichomanes caudatum*, and *T. humile*. Four taxa are Nationally Endangered, three Nationally Vulnerable, three Declining, and one Relict; 151 of 208 taxa are Not Threatened [2](https://www.nzflora.info/pdfs/FloraOfNewZealand-Ferns-%E2%85%A0-BrownseyPerrie-2022-Introduction.pdf).
Threatened ferns are typically rare-range species: species of conservation concern have mean range sizes of 14,627 km² against 72,288 km² for non-threatened species [9](https://doi.org/10.20417/nzjecol.42.22). Loss of habitat threatens *[Cyclosorus interruptus](https://www.edgepedia.org/cyclosorus-interruptus)*, *Isoetes kirkii*, *Lycopodiella serpentina*, and *Phylloglossum drummondii*, and pig damage is causing decline in *Ptisana salicina* [2](https://www.nzflora.info/pdfs/FloraOfNewZealand-Ferns-%E2%85%A0-BrownseyPerrie-2022-Introduction.pdf).
Introduced ferns add pressure. Their range sizes correlate positively with years since arrival and the number of world regions occupied, and *Selaginella kraussiana* and *Dryopteris filix-mas* (both introduced as ornamentals) and *Equisetum arvense* (introduced accidentally) have become problem weeds [9](https://doi.org/10.20417/nzjecol.42.22).
On the administrative side, all New Zealand vascular plant taxa were reassessed in 2022–2023 under the New Zealand Threat Classification System, with results published in 2024 replacing all previous NZTCS lists [10](https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/pteris-macilenta/). The species tally itself has moved only modestly: a net gain of four species between the August 2023 and May 2026 checklists [5](https://datastore.landcareresearch.co.nz/dataset/63d5583b-edd3-48c8-8114-8d7f7b97a50f/resource/06f84c8b-f0d6-472c-9e1b-3b14f8f46f3b/download/checklistofthenewzealandflora-fernsandlycophytesaugust2023.pdf).
## Taxonomic change and how to identify ferns
Familiar names have shifted. Phylogenetic work by Perrie and colleagues and by Gasper and colleagues split the large genus *Blechnum*, and alternative classifications recognize up to seven indigenous New Zealand genera: *[Austroblechnum](https://www.edgepedia.org/austroblechnum)*, *[Cranfillia](https://www.edgepedia.org/cranfillia)*, *Diploblechnum*, *[Doodia](https://www.edgepedia.org/doodia)*, *Icarus*, *Lomaria*, and *Parablechnum* [11](https://www.nzflora.info/factsheet/Taxon/Blechnaceae.html).
For identification, the *Flora of New Zealand* provides keys covering the 32 families and 78 genera [2](https://www.nzflora.info/pdfs/FloraOfNewZealand-Ferns-%E2%85%A0-BrownseyPerrie-2022-Introduction.pdf). Te Papa's illustrated *Identification Guide to the Ferns and Lycophytes of Aotearoa New Zealand* covers 201 of the most commonly encountered species, from a few millimeters long to 20-meter tree ferns [12](https://mcleodsbooks.co.nz/p/identification-guide-to-the-ferns-and-lycophytes-of-aotearoa-new-zealand). Checklist data are continuously curated and published hourly to the Biota of New Zealand website, with quarterly change reports [1](https://datastore.landcareresearch.co.nz/dataset/22151919-0136-453f-a6f1-6ba034340647/resource/32bbbfce-2d6e-42a7-9e01-1bbe77db8174/download/checklist-of-the-new-zealand-flora-ferns-and-lycophytes-may-2026.pdf).
## References
1. Checklist of the New Zealand Flora – Ferns and Lycophytes (May 2026), Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research. https://datastore.landcareresearch.co.nz/dataset/22151919-0136-453f-a6f1-6ba034340647/resource/32bbbfce-2d6e-42a7-9e01-1bbe77db8174/download/checklist-of-the-new-zealand-flora-ferns-and-lycophytes-may-2026.pdf
2. Flora of New Zealand Ferns and Lycophytes — Introduction (Brownsey & Perrie 2022). https://www.nzflora.info/pdfs/FloraOfNewZealand-Ferns-%E2%85%A0-BrownseyPerrie-2022-Introduction.pdf
3. Classification and typification of Australian lycophytes and ferns based on PPG I. https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/66277/
4. Trilepidea (NZ Plant Conservation Network newsletter), March 2023. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/site/assets/files/0/72/902/trilepidea_march_2023_final.pdf
5. Checklist of the New Zealand Flora – Ferns and Lycophytes (August 2023). https://datastore.landcareresearch.co.nz/dataset/63d5583b-edd3-48c8-8114-8d7f7b97a50f/resource/06f84c8b-f0d6-472c-9e1b-3b14f8f46f3b/download/checklistofthenewzealandflora-fernsandlycophytesaugust2023.pdf
6. A revised classification of New Zealand pteridophytes with a synonymic checklist of species, NZ Journal of Botany (1985). https://doi.org/10.1080/0028825x.1985.10425348
7. Ferns and lycophytes in New Zealand, Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand. https://teara.govt.nz/mi/ferns-and-lycophytes/page-3
8. Deep vicariance and frequent transoceanic dispersal shape the evolutionary history of a globally distributed fern family, American Journal of Botany. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.16062
9. Patterns of range size in New Zealand ferns and lycophytes, New Zealand Journal of Ecology. https://doi.org/10.20417/nzjecol.42.22
10. Pteris macilenta, New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/pteris-macilenta/
11. Flora of New Zealand Taxon Profile — Blechnaceae (Brownsey & Perrie 2021). https://www.nzflora.info/factsheet/Taxon/Blechnaceae.html
12. Identification Guide to the Ferns and Lycophytes of Aotearoa New Zealand (Te Papa). https://mcleodsbooks.co.nz/p/identification-guide-to-the-ferns-and-lycophytes-of-aotearoa-new-zealand
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Life and health › Plants and algae › Ferns and lycophytes › Regional fern floras and pteridology institutions › Ferns of Oceania › Ferns of New Zealand*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license