Sign in Start free
Species library › Blechnum › Blechnum discolor
Ferns Well documented

Blechnum discolor

The crown fern or piupiu of New Zealand, now often treated as Lomaria discolor, a trunk-forming ground fern that carpets the floor of many native forests. It wants cool, moist, shaded conditions and dislikes heat and dry air.

Blechnum discolor
Photo: Paul Keestra, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Humid airBand in Plantistry
Light ShadeDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
No rest periodGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

Terrestrial fern of forest understories throughout New Zealand, sometimes the dominant ground cover in beech and podocarp forest.

Recorded from 5 to 1160 m, median 400 m (738 records).

New Zealand North IslandNew Zealand South IslandStewart IslandChatham Islands

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

Grow Blechnum discolor? Add it to a free garden and its full profile opens. Pro opens all 38,374 profiles in the library, plants and fungi.

Start free Sign in

More Blechnum

Blechnum appendiculatum Blechnum sociale Blechnum montanum Blechnum occidentale Blechnum arcuatum Blechnum acanthopodum Blechnum acutum Blechnum aequabile Blechnum aequatoriense Blechnum aggregatum Blechnum amabile Blechnum ambiguum All 259 →

Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY 3.0 licence, unmodified.