Mother Fern

The mother fern, also called the hen and chicken fern and known in Maori as pikopiko, mouku or mauku, is a fern of the spleenwort family Aspleniaceae endemic to New Zealand. It reproduces both by spores and by small bulbils that form on top of its fronds, grow to about five centimeters, and drop off to root and grow into new plants wherever the soil beneath stays moist, an easier method of propagation than by spore. It grows across most bush habitats in New Zealand, from shade to partial sunlight, and its young fronds are eaten as a vegetable in both traditional and contemporary Maori cuisine.