Wheki
Brown Tree Fern or Hard Tree Fern
Family: Dicksoniaceae Genus: Dicksonia squarrosa
A medium sized tree fern, with a slender brown trunk.
Grows to 7 metres tall. The very harsh fronds grow 1.5 to 3 m long (much smaller than Cyathea
varieties). They are quite crisp to touch and form a small “umbrella” on top
of the trunk. Stems and fronds are very rough. The top side of the
fronds are dark green while underneath they are paler. Dead leaves
are an orange-brown colour.
Horeke, Hokainga Harbour, Northland, New Zealand, NZ)