The tree ferns are arborescent (tree-like) ferns that grow with a trunk elevating the fronds above ground level, making them trees. Many extant tree ferns are members of the order Cyatheales, to which belong the families Cyatheaceae, Dicksoniaceae, Metaxyaceae, and Cibotiaceae. It is estimated that Cyatheales originated in the early Jurassic, and is the third group of ferns known to have given rise to tree-like forms. The others are the extinct Tempskya of uncertain position, and Osmundales where the extinct Guaireaceae and some members of Osmundaceae also grew into trees. In addition there were the Psaroniaceae and Tietea in the Marattiales, which is the sister group to most living ferns including Cyatheales.
The ferns are a group of vascular plants that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissues that conduct water and nutrients and in having life cycles in which the branched sporophyte is the dominant phase.
Bracken (Pteridium) is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns (Pteridophyta) are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells. Brackens are noted for their large, highly divided leaves. They are found on all continents except Antarctica and in all environments except deserts, though their typical habitat is moorland. The genus probably has the widest distribution of any fern in the world.
The culture of New Zealand is a synthesis of indigenous Māori, colonial British, and other cultural influences. The country's earliest inhabitants brought with them customs and language from Polynesia, and during the centuries of isolation, developed their own Māori and Moriori cultures. British colonists in the 19th century brought Western culture and had a dramatic effect on the indigenous inhabitants, spreading Western religious traditions and the English language. Over time, a distinct Pākehā or New Zealand European culture emerged.
Lygodium is a genus of about 40 species of ferns, native to tropical regions across the world, with a few temperate species in eastern Asia and eastern North America. It is the sole genus in the family Lygodiaceae in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016. Alternatively, the genus may be placed as the only genus in the subfamily Lygodioideae of a more broadly defined family Schizaeaceae, the family placement used in Plants of the World Online as of November 2019.
Doubtful Sound / Patea is a fiord in Fiordland, in the far south west of New Zealand. It is located in the same region as the smaller but more famous and accessible Milford Sound / Piopiotahi. It took second place after Milford Sound as New Zealand's most famous tourism destination.
The order Cyatheales, which includes most tree ferns, is a taxonomic order of the fern class, Polypodiopsida. No clear morphological features characterize all of the Cyatheales, but DNA sequence data indicate the order is monophyletic. Some species in the Cyatheales have tree-like growth forms from a vertical rhizome, others have shorter or horizontal expanding rhizomes.
Alsophila tricolor, synonym Cyathea dealbata, commonly known as the silver fern or silver tree-fern, or as ponga or punga, is a species of medium-sized tree fern, endemic to New Zealand. The fern is usually recognisable by the silver-white colour of the under-surface of mature fronds. It is a symbol commonly associated with the country both overseas and by New Zealanders themselves.
The koru is a spiral shape based on the appearance of a new unfurling silver fern frond. It is an integral symbol in Māori art, carving and tattooing, where it symbolises new life, growth, strength and peace. Its shape "conveys the idea of perpetual movement," while the inner coil "suggests returning to the point of origin".
Polypodiaceae is a family of ferns. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016, the family includes around 65 genera and an estimated 1,650 species and is placed in the order Polypodiales, suborder Polypodiineae. A broader circumscription has also been used, in which the family includes other families kept separate in PPG I. Nearly all species are epiphytes, but some are terrestrial.
Sphaeropteris medullaris, synonym Cyathea medullaris, commonly known as mamaku or black tree fern, is a large tree fern up to 20 m tall. It is distributed across the south-west Pacific from Fiji to Pitcairn Island. Its other Māori names include katātā, kōrau, or pītau.
Dennstaedtiaceae is one of fifteen families in the order Polypodiales, the most derived families within monilophytes (ferns). It comprises 10 genera with ca 240 known species, including one of the world's most abundant ferns, Pteridium aquilinum (bracken). Members of the order generally have large, highly divided leaves and have either small, round intramarginal sori with cup-shaped indusia or linear marginal sori with a false indusium formed from the reflexed leaf margin. The morphological diversity among members of the order has confused past taxonomy, but recent molecular studies have supported the monophyly of the order and the family. The reclassification of Dennstaedtiaceae and the rest of the monilophytes was published in 2006, so most of the available literature is not updated.
Alsophila cunninghamii, synonym Cyathea cunninghamii, also known as the gully tree fern and slender tree fern, is a species of tree fern indigenous to New Zealand including North Island, South Island and Chatham Islands; also to Victoria, possibly New South Wales, southeastern Queensland and Tasmania in Australia. It grows in damp forest, often emerging from stream gullies and riverbanks. Brownsey noted that it has a lower tolerance for drought than other related species. The erect trunk may be 20 m tall and is usually 6–15 cm in diameter, occasionally as much as 20 cm. Fronds are tri- to tetrapinnate and 3 m or more in length. The rachis and stipe are slender, black brown, warty and covered with brown scales. Sori occur along each side of the pinnule midvein and are covered by hood-like indusia. A. cunninghamii is an uncommon and slow-growing tree fern.
Nothofagus truncata, or hard beech, is a species of tree endemic to New Zealand. Its common name derives from the fact that the timber has a high silica content, making it tough and difficult to saw. Hard beech is a tree up to 30m tall occurring in lowland and lower montane forest from latitude 35°S to 42°30'S, that is, from the north of the North Island southwards to Marlborough and south Westland in the South Island. In Taranaki it forms almost pure stands on the rugged sandstone country there and is partially deciduous, dropping many of its leaves at the end of the winter. N. truncata became known as Fuscospora truncata after 2013 in New Zealand.
New Zealand dollar banknotes are the banknotes in circulation in New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Tokelau, Niue and the Pitcairn Islands, denominated in the New Zealand dollar. They are issued by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and since 1999 have been made of polymer.
Doodia caudata is a species of dimorphic, evergreen fern in the family Blechnaceae, native to Australia and New Zealand. Upright clusters of fertile fronds reach 10 inches (25 cm) in length. It has been introduced to the Azores, Madeira and Sri Lanka.
Bushy Park is a forest located on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand, at 791 Rangitatau East Road, 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from Kai Iwi, Whanganui, Manawatū-Whanganui region. It features an Edwardian-era homestead, which is a Category I heritage building registered with Heritage New Zealand, a predator-free native bird sanctuary, and a virgin rainforest. It measures approximately 100 hectares, and is characterized as a "lowland remnant of rata-podocarp taka-puketea [sic] rainforest". According to Forest & Bird, Bushy Park is considered to be amongst the 25 best restoration ecology projects in Australia and New Zealand.
Loxogramme is a genus of over 20 confirmed species of ferns.
Ophioglossum petiolatum is a species of fern in the family Ophioglossaceae. William Jackson Hooker named this species in 1823.
