tree fern or Australian treefern
Dicksonia antarctica
Prehistoric tree fern
The Australian tree fern looks like a tree - but it isn’t. What we regard as the trunk is in fact a collection of dead petioles and roots belonging to a fern. The stem can attain a maximum thickness of approximately 30 cm. Tree ferns had their heyday 300 million years ago in the Carboniferous. Under favourable conditions some can reach heights of 15 m but 4.5 - 5 m is more common.
Balantium grows very slowly - each growing season putting on about 3.5 - 5 cm in height. The stem carries a terminal rosette of 40 to 60 large, dark green, coarse fronds each with a length of about 3 m. The outer leaves die off each year and new leaves emerge from above the old. The species name antarcticum refers to its geographical extent during a warmer past but it is still accurate: this tree fern can tolerate a little frost.
Themes
Crown jewel in the Overzee Botanic Garden.
These ferns can grow to 15 m in height with leaves of 4 m long and can live for 400 years.
Details
| Description: | Tree, a slow-growing tree fern, forming a thick, sometimes massive, trunk up to 15 m tall. |
|---|---|
| Distributions: | Australia: tasmania |
| Habitat: | Damp moist woodland and along rivers |
| Year cycle: | Perennial (polycarpic evergreen) |
| Hardiness: | 14 - 23 f (hardy - average winter) |
| Flower color: | Not applicable |