Loading…
22
I always figured ferns were boring until I read that one fern in New Zealand grows a trunk 30 feet tall
Saw it in a botany group post last week that the Cyathea dealbata in New Zealand can hit 30 feet and people literally walk under them like trees, so now I'm second guessing why I ever wrote off ferns as just ground cover, and I want to know if anyone here has actually seen one that big in person?
1 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In1 Comment
milarodriguez13d ago
Cyathea dealbata tops out around 30 feet, sure, but that is the absolute best case for a happy tree fern in deep shade and damp soil, and most of the ones people actually walk past in New Zealand are way shorter. Go to any garden center here in the states and the tree ferns on sale are usually 3 to 6 feet of trunk, and they want 80 bucks for it. So the big one makes a good photo but it is not like ferns suddenly became oak trees. You do not see people building decks around them or hanging swings from them. Most ferns are still ground cover, and the one freaky tall one does not change that.
2