Todea barbara
Encyclopedia
Todea barbara is known as the king fern. Occurring in moist areas of south eastern Australia
, and also indigenous to New Zealand
and South Africa
.
It grows up to 3 metres (9.8 ft) tall, but has a short stumpy base. Occasionally the King Fern is found in drier sites in rock crevices
.
, the Todea barbara fern is increasingly rare, with small groups occurring in just a few disparate localities in the Mount Lofty Ranges
.
The largest remaining stand was in Uraidla on private property, on the upper reaches of "Deep Creek", a tributary to Sixth Creek in the Torrens Catchment. In the 1970s, many ancient two metre tall fern trunks were removed by a plant poacher at night, possibly under the mistaken belief that they were tree ferns, which can transplant readily. Mature King Ferns do not. There are a few remnants in this gully today and some local native plant specialists have propagated plants from spores from this site which may be grown in the home garden or planted along creek edges.
Cultivation
The Australian native plant
industry has propagated many from spores. They can be readily acquired through nurseries as an rnamental plant for gardens and natural landscaping
. Most of these will be of Victorian or NSW origin.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and also indigenous to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
It grows up to 3 metres (9.8 ft) tall, but has a short stumpy base. Occasionally the King Fern is found in drier sites in rock crevices
.
Distribution
In South AustraliaSouth Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
, the Todea barbara fern is increasingly rare, with small groups occurring in just a few disparate localities in the Mount Lofty Ranges
Mount Lofty Ranges
The Mount Lofty Ranges are the range of mountains just to the east of Adelaide in South Australia.-Location and description:The Mount Lofty Ranges stretch from the southernmost point of the Fleurieu Peninsula at Cape Jervis northwards for over before petering out north of Peterborough...
.
The largest remaining stand was in Uraidla on private property, on the upper reaches of "Deep Creek", a tributary to Sixth Creek in the Torrens Catchment. In the 1970s, many ancient two metre tall fern trunks were removed by a plant poacher at night, possibly under the mistaken belief that they were tree ferns, which can transplant readily. Mature King Ferns do not. There are a few remnants in this gully today and some local native plant specialists have propagated plants from spores from this site which may be grown in the home garden or planted along creek edges.
Cultivation
The Australian native plant
Native plant
Native plant is a term to describe plants endemic or naturalized to a given area in geologic time.This includes plants that have developed, occur naturally, or existed for many years in an area...
industry has propagated many from spores. They can be readily acquired through nurseries as an rnamental plant for gardens and natural landscaping
Natural landscaping
.Natural landscaping, also called native gardening, is the use of native plants, including trees, shrubs, groundcover, and grasses which are indigenous to the geographic area of the garden.-Maintenance:...
. Most of these will be of Victorian or NSW origin.
External links
- David Nicholls (January 1998), Todea barbara - King Fern, Ferns and Fern Allies in the Canberra Region. Includes photos.