Due to the unfortunate name of this lovely fern, I have to start out with a bit of a rant. Many people prefer using common names for plants, rather than the scientific names, which can be long, Latiny and hard to remember. I totally empathise (although I use the scientific names as much as possible given their value as unique identifiers of each species). 

But sometimes a plant's common name just doesn't suit it. I feel like that with the poor old Gristle Fern (Blechnum cartilagineum), which isn't much more gristly than the next fern, and is arguably less gristly than say the Bracken Fern (Pteridium esculentum). It doesn't help that the other common name for this species is Soft Water Fern. On the other hand, the scientific name also mentions its gristliness, so perhaps there's some cryptic gristle factor that I'm missing. 

But names aside, this is a handsome fern with broad, bright or dark green fronds that can grow up to 80-100cm long in ideal conditions. The young fronds often have beautiful pinkish, reddish or even peachy tinges as they develop.

Gristle Fern can form attractive large clumps in suitable conditions. Rainforests are the classic home of ferns, but Gristle Fern is tough enough that it can also be found in eucalypt forests, particularly in wetter areas of forest along the escarpment.

It is also happy as an understorey plant in shady gardens, and will cope with dry conditions pretty well once it is established; it's easy to manage if the clump starts to get too large for where you want it.    

Emma Rooksby is the co-ordinator of the Growing Illawarra Natives website

And about the only thing more spectacular than that big clump of Gristle Fern is this even bigger clump of Gristle Fern, which is growing on the slopes below Broker's Nose, in among the Turpentine trees (Syncarpia glomulifera). Keep an eye out for Gristle Fern if you're walking in forest on the escarpment.