paretao
1. (noun) shining spleenwort, Asplenium oblongifolium - large tufted native fern with very glossy fronds. Leaflets pointed with fine teeth. Distinctive brown herringbone pattern on the underneath of mature fronds. Common on coastal cliffs, in scrub and forest, usually on ground but also on trees.
Ka tae mai ki te ngahere, ka kai, he paretao ngā kai (W 1971:267). / On arriving at the forest they ate paretao fern.
See also huruhuru whenua
Synonyms: parenako
2. (noun) strap fern, finger fern, Notogrammitis billardierei - tufted native perching fern. Fronds narrow, blunt and strap-like. Common in forest or scrub on the lower sections of tree trunks, on rocks and occasionally on the ground.
3. (noun) shore spleenwort, Asplenium obtusatum - a native coastal fern confined in the northern part of its range to only the most exposed situations. Further south it grows not only on exposed cliffs but also in coastal vegetation where it often forms an important association with Hebe elliptica and Blechnum durum. Frequently associated with sea bird colonies. Rhizome stout, often forming a hard woody mass above ground, bearing brown, shiny, ovate, acuminate scales. Has thich fleshy fronds.
