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New Zealand tree fern
Dicksonia squarrosa
Dicksonia squarrosa, the New Zealand tree fern, whekī or rough tree fern, is a common tree fern endemic to New Zealand. It has a slender black trunk that is usually surrounded by many dead brown fronds.
From the article Dicksonia squarrosa on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
This species has a fast growth rate of up to 10 to 80 cm (4 to 31 in) a year, growing to about 6 m (20 ft) tall. It produces few fronds, all of which sprout in almost horizontal fashion. The fronds reach 1.5–3 m (5–10 ft) in length, much smaller than Cyathea species, and are quite crisp to touch. They form a small "umbrella" on top of the trunk. They are sometimes found sprouting from apparently dead pieces of trunk. The trunks are often used for fencing or edging and fronds will sometimes sprout from the side if the top is dead. A feature of the whekī is the spreading underground rhizomes which can create dense groves, making it one of the most common tree ferns in New Zealand forests.
In human culture
The Latin specific epithet squarrosa means "with curving ends" (referring to the fronds).
Wikipedia: “Etymology”
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Dicksonia squarrosa in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 125927.