Todea barbara
Ferns Species:
Family:
Common Name:
Status:
Size:
Todea barbara
Osmundaceae
King fern
Nationally Endangered
Fronds up tp 60cm long
Habitat:
Coastal to lowland areas, it is found on open sunny locations often on bare claybanks or fringing sinkholes in gumland scrub. Native to New Zealand and Australia, it is threatened by habitat loss through land clearance and competition from weeds. Some populations have been eliminated by people collecting plants for the horticultural trade.
Description:
Robust, leathery ferns producing trunks up to 1m tall, yellow-brown with ear-like lobes at base. Fond leaves are egg shaped or elliptic. Also known as the King fern or Royal fern, this species was once common, but is now threatened.
Distribution:
Indigenous species. In New Zealand confined to the North Island, where it grows on the Poor Knights Islands and locally from Te Paki south to about Dargaville and the Bay of Islands up to a height of 500m. See distribution map (bottom right).
Bibliography:
New Zealand plant conservation network, http://www.nzpcn.org.nz/vascular_plants/
detail.asp?PlantID=99