Tuber ladder fern, is a fern

Fern

A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...

 native to Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 and Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

. It has many common names including Boston fern, sword fern, narrow swordfern and ladder fern. It is similar to the related fern Nephrolepis exaltata.

Distribution

It has been introduced into Bermuda

Bermuda

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...

, French Polynesia

French Polynesia

French Polynesia is an overseas country of the French Republic . It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 and the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Invasive species

N. cordifolia has become an invasive species

Invasive species

"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....

 is some areas where it has been introduced. In New Zealand it is listed on the National Pest Plant Accord

National Pest Plant Accord

The National Pest Plant Accord identifies pest plants that are prohibited from sale and commercial propagation and distribution across New Zealand....

 preventing the sale, cultivation and distribution of the plant. It is listed as an invasive species in Florida, United States.

External links

• Nephrolepis cordifolia at the Global Invasive Species Database (Invasive Species Specialist Group)
• Nephrolepis cordifolia at Weedbusters (New Zealand)
• Nephrolepis cordifolia at the Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health (United States)