Botanical name:

Alsophila smithii – (Cyathea smithii)

Common name(s):

kātote, Smith’s tree fern, soft tree fern

About:

A tree fern with soft, green-stalked fronds reaching up to 2.5m in length. Its trunk grows up to 5 tall and is skirted with the remains of old fronds. The leaf stems are covered in tiny red and white star-shaped hairs and pointed scales, visible under magnification. Sporangia are arranged in small, round capsules on the undersides of the leaves.

Natural habitat:

Lowland to montane (mostly montane in northern New Zealand), usually in dense forest where it is often a common sub-canopy species, in wetter areas often extending in open scrub, gullies and valley heads, and within the bush-line. In wetter areas Alsophila smithii often forms a tree-fern land in cut over and/or deer damaged indigenous forest, and it may be a common species in pine plantations.

Growing environment:

Shade & Wetland tolerant

Endemic distribution:

New Zealand: North, South, Stewart, Chatham and Auckland Islands.

Height: 5m

Flowering: N/A spore producing.

Fruiting: N/A

Uses:

Bird food / Attractant & Forests.

How to grow:

Easily grown but needs shelter from strong winds and must never be allowed to dry out. Does better in wetter parts of the country.