The heart of a thriving Todea barbara plant shows consistent pinnule-shape across fronds; size being another matter, the differences big. The pinnule blades are oblong or nearly so, positioned parallel to each other, ascending comb-like and well-aligned. This creates a gradually curving frond plane, ready to receive every bit of sunlight that might slip through. Ferns cope well in their shaded world of poorly shared sunlight, as long as there’s moisture.

The blackish sporangia found on the lower surfaces of pinnules of lower pinnae are visible in picture near pinnae bases of lower frond sections. The sori of this fern are round to oval. The pinnae that bear spores may be slightly smaller than those that don’t (Bean and Johns, 2005; www.nzpcn.org.nz).