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Button fern facts for kids

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Button fern
Pellaea rotundifolia - Berlin Botanical Garden - IMG 8761.JPG
Scientific classification
Synonyms
  • Allosorus rotundifolius (G.Forst.) Kunze
  • Hemionitis rotundifolia (G.Forst.) Christenh.
  • Platyloma rotundifolium (G.Forst.) J.Sm.
  • Pteris rotundifolia G.Forst.

Pellaea rotundifolia, the button fern, is a species of fern endemic to New Zealand, where it grows in scrub and forests. It is also a popular garden plant (in zones 8 and 9) and house plant, tolerating low temperatures but not freezing.

Pellaea rotundifolia is a compact, evergreen fern that can have more than 30 pairs of round, dark-green, leathery pinnae on fronds up to 18 in (460 mm) in length. The Latin specific epithet rotundifolia means “round-leaved”.

  • Pellaea rotundifolia kz8

    Underside of the pinnae

  • Pellaearotundifolium

    In cultivation

Cultivation

It needs acidic and well-drained soil; it does not appreciate the moist, humid conditions that most ferns require so does well with minimal watering.

This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.

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Button fern Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.