S is for Silver Fern: endemic and emblematic

A bushwalk up to the Aranui Cave this morning was a treat, our guide pointing out fascinating plants, leaves that were used to send messages and of course the most important of all ferns here in New Zealand, the silver fern.

Extract from the Zealandia website:

"The Silver Fern is the most distinct and easily recognised New Zealand tree fern, especially when viewed from underneath. The underside of the fronds and the stems of the fronds near the trunk are a distinctive silver-white, giving the fern its name. It grows to a height of 10 m or more and has a thick trunk up to 45cm in diameter. The base of the trunk is a mass of old fibrous aerial roots while the upper part of the trunk is covered in the bases and stalks of old fronds.

The fern fronds are a bright green on the upper surface and reach lengths of up to 4m, arching out in a circular, somewhat flattened, crown. Young silver ferns are green on the underside and it can take the plant several years for the silvery-white colour to develop."

The silver underside of the Silver Fern

Shawni approaching the entrance to Aranui Cave