The New Zealand Site
« Back Send this photo as a postcard
Mamaku in the Valley
Waitakere Dam: Mamaku in the Valley
These are black tree ferns (named for the colour of the trunk), Cyathea medullaris. At up to 20 metres tall and with fronds up to 6 metres long, they're the tallest and most vigorous of the tree ferns. They proliferate best in freshly overturned soil, so they are plentiful in the Waitakere Ranges because of the timber industry that flourished here.

November 2001