Cyathea medullaris, popularly known as the Black Tree Fern, is the largest tree fern in the world. It is feature of New Zealand vegetation and is found to grow to heights of 20 metres. It is also found in Australia.
Black tree ferns might look more like palm trees than to woody trees, but they are not closely related to either. Its fronds have rather little overlap and do not shade each other very much. It has no secondary growth and no wood. Nevertheless, tree fern stalks, including black tree fern, have been used as building material and they are still used for makeshift track work.
It is an evergreen fern growing at a slow rate. It requires moist or wet soil to grow. The young fronds of the fern are beautiful as they first appear, tightly coiled, covered with large, shiny brown scales, and then as they gradually uncoil, still with these brown scales.
It may have been named because the base of each mature frond is black with a rather bluish tinge if seen from the underside.
Black tree ferns might look more like palm trees than to woody trees, but they are not closely related to either. Its fronds have rather little overlap and do not shade each other very much. It has no secondary growth and no wood. Nevertheless, tree fern stalks, including black tree fern, have been used as building material and they are still used for makeshift track work.
It is an evergreen fern growing at a slow rate. It requires moist or wet soil to grow. The young fronds of the fern are beautiful as they first appear, tightly coiled, covered with large, shiny brown scales, and then as they gradually uncoil, still with these brown scales.
It may have been named because the base of each mature frond is black with a rather bluish tinge if seen from the underside.
