Dicksonia antarctica aka Australian Tree Fern

Dicksonia antarctica, also known as the soft tree fern or man fern, is a species of evergreen tree fern that is native to eastern Australia. It can be found in regions ranging from south-east Queensland, coastal New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania. This tree fern typically grows slowly to a height of 4m and has a stout reddish-brown stem. It features a terminal rosette of arching, deeply divided, glossy dark green fronds that can reach lengths of up to 3m. While it is evergreen, it may become deciduous in colder areas. D. antarctica is the only tree fern from Australia or New Zealand that is truly hardy in all but the coldest gardens in the UK. In the past, gardeners may have attempted to grow other species such as D. fibrosa, D. squarossa, and various trunk forming cyatheas, especially after a series of mild winters. However, it has been learned through experience, particularly after the winter of 2012, that D. antarctica is the only survivor in all but the mildest coastal gardens in the southwest of England. The presence of D. antarctica in Cornish gardens can be attributed to the arrival of trunks in the 1840s and 1850s at Falmouth Docks. These fibrous trunks were used as ballast on ships to prevent cargo movement. Once at the dockside, it was discovered that the bare trunks were sprouting fronds, leading to their introduction in various Cornish gardens. At Caerhays, D. antarctica thrives in two damp and sheltered quarries, with each quarry housing 30 or more trunked plants. The spores of these ferns readily reproduce in damp and shady areas throughout the garden, as well as climbing up the stone sides of the quarries. While older plants with tall trunks eventually fall over, their crowns reroot and continue growing.