Dicksonia antarctica
Dicksonia antarctica in natural habitat in Gippsland, Australia. Gippsland is a large rural region in Victoria, Australia. It begins immediately east of the suburbs of Melbourne and stretches to the New South Wales border
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Pteridophyta Class: Pteridopsida Order: Cyatheales Family: Dicksoniaceae Genus: Dicksonia Species: D. Plants are living Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. A fern is any one of a group of about 20000 Species of Plants classified in the phylum or division Pteridophyta, also known as Filicophyta The Pteridopsida is a class of Plants in the Division Pteridophyta that includes all the Leptosporangiate ferns In the recent 2006 classification by The order Cyatheales is a Taxonomic division of the Fern subclass Cyatheatae, which includes the tree ferns. The Dicksoniaceae is a family of tropical subtropical and warm temperate Ferns Most of the 5-6 genera in the family are terrestrial ferns or have Dicksonia is a genus of Tree ferns in the order Cyatheales It is regarded as related to Cyathea, but is considered more primitive dating antarctica
Binomial name
Dicksonia antarctica Labill. 1807

Dicksonia antarctica, known as the Soft Tree Fern, Man Fern or Tasmanian Tree Fern is an evergreen tree fern native to parts of Australia, namely New South Wales, Tasmania, and Victoria. Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière (1755&ndash1834 was a French botanist noted for his descriptions of the flora of Australia. The order Cyatheales is a Taxonomic division of the Fern subclass Cyatheatae, which includes the tree ferns. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Tasmania is an Australian island and state of the same name It is located south of the eastern side of the Continent, being separated from it by Bass

Anatomy and biology

These ferns can grow to 15 m in height, but more typically grow to about 4. 5-5 m, and consist of an erect rhizome forming a trunk. In Botany, a rhizome is a horizontal stem of a Plant that is usually found underground often sending out Roots and Shoots They are very hairy at the base of the stipe (trunk). In Botany, a stipe is a supportive structure that may be the stem-like part of the thallus of a Seaweed or a true leaf stem as in Ferns The large, dark green, roughly-textured fronds spread in a canopy of 2-6 m in diameter. A frond is a large Leaf with many divisions to it and the term is typically used for the leaves of palms Ferns or Cycads A frond is The shapes of the stems vary as some grow curved and there are multi-headed ones. The fronds are borne in flushes, with fertile and sterile fronds often in alternating layers.

The "trunk" of this fern is merely the decaying remains of earlier growth of the plant and forms a medium through which the roots grow. The trunk is usually solitary, without runners, but may produce offsets. They can be cut down and, if they are kept moist, the top portions can be replanted and will form new roots. ROOT is an object-oriented program and library developed by CERN. The stump, however, will not regenerate since it is dead organic matter. In nature, the fibrous trunks are hosts for a range of epiphytic plants including other ferns and mosses. An epiphyte is an organism that grows upon or attaches to a living plant Mosses are small soft Plants that are typically 1–10  cm (0

The fern grows at 3. 5 to 5 cm per year and produces spores at the age of about 20 years. In Biology, a spore is a reproductive structure that is adapted for dispersal and surviving for extended periods of time in unfavorable conditions

Reproduction

Reproduction by this species is primarily from spores, but it can also be grown from plantlets occurring around the base of the rhizome.

In cultivation, it can also be grown as a "cutting", a method not to be encouraged unless the tree-fern is doomed to die in its present position. This involves sawing the trunk through, usually at ground level, and removing the fronds; the top part will form roots and regrow, but the base will die.

Habitat

The fern grows on damp, sheltered woodland slopes and moist gullies, and they occasionally occur at high altitudes in cloud forests. Dicksonia antarctica is the most abundant tree fern in South Eastern Australia.

The plant can grow in acid, neutral and alkaline soils. Soil, often typeset as SOiL, is a four piece rock band from Chicago Illinois United States founded by Shaun Glass Tom Schofield Tim King and Adam Zadel It can grow in semi-shade. It strongly resents drought or dryness at the roots, but does best in moist soil.

Cultivation

Dicksonia antarctica in an English garden. The trunk is 60 cm high.

It is particularly suited to garden planting and landscaping purposes. As an ornamental plant, it is hardy to about –5 C, succeeding outdoors in the milder areas of Britain where it thrives and often self-sows in Cornish gardens. Ornamental plants are typically grown in the flower Garden or as House plants Most commonly they are grown for the display of their Flowers Other common See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands Cornwall ( Kernow ˈkɛɹnɔʊ is the most southwesterly county of England, on the Peninsula that lies to the west of the River Tamar

It is best to leave old fronds on the plant in order to protect the trunk from cold and desiccation. Desiccation is the state of extreme dryness or the process of extreme drying Winter protection of the trunk is recommended during prolonged or severe cold weather.

They grow best in areas of rainfall of over 1,000 mm per year but in lower rainfall areas do well in moist gullies. They are tolerant of fire and re-shoot readily after re-location. This plant can provide habitat for epiphytes and also provides shelter for more delicate fern species to flourish underneath.

Plant in organic soils and heavily and regularly mulched and water. Dicksonia antarctica generally requires a minimum rainfall of 500 mm (20 inches) per year. In dry climates, a drip irrigation or spray system applied overhead is the most effective method of watering.

Harvesting

Large Dicksonia antarctica available for sale come from old growth Tasmanian forests, and may be hundreds of years old. Ancient Woodland Old growth forest, (also termed primary forest, ancient forest, virgin forest, primeval forest, frontier The logging practices by the company Gunns, who effectively have a state-monopoly on logging and make these plants available, have been criticized by green groups for several decades. Gunns Limited ( is a major Forestry enterprise located in Tasmania, Australia. ^[1]

Edibility

Dicksonia antarctica

The Soft Tree Fern can be used as a food source, with the pith of the plant being eaten either cooked or raw. Pith is a light substance that is found in Vascular plants It consists of soft spongy Parenchyma cells and is located in the center of the stem. It is a good source of starch. Starch, CAS # 9005-25-8 Chemical formula (C6H10O5n is a Polysaccharide

References

• Plants For a Future: Dicksonia antarctica
• Australian National Botanic Gardens: Dicksonia antarctica – the soft tree fern
• Braggins, John E. and Large, Mark F. Tree Ferns. Timber Press (2004). ISBN