Identify New Zealand’s common tree ferns: ponga, mamaku, kātote, whekī, and whekī ponga
Skirts, scales, hexagons, and colour. There are many differences you can look out for if you want to learn how to identify tree ferns.Read more
2019-12-20
A new tree fern – or an unexpected hybrid?
In 2015, ecologists Chris Stowe and Claire Newell found a strange fern during a vegetation survey in Whirinaki Forest, in the eastern North Island. They sent a frond to Te Papa’s fern experts Leon Perrie and Patrick Brownsey, who were also puzzled. This fern was clearly a Dicksonia tree fern but didn’t match any known species. Was it a new species?Read more
2019-05-27