Native to Australia, this impressive tree fern can reach 15 metres tall. With its relative hardiness and its tendency to multiply easily, it is highly prized by landscape architecture enthusiasts.
Identity Card
Tassonomia
Detailed Informations
Etymology
Sphaeropteris comes from Latin ‘sphaera’: rounded and ‘pteris’ Latin term for ferns. Cooperi is a name given in honour of British botanist Thomas Cooper.
Description and flowering period
This fast-growing tree fern can reach 6 to 15 meters in height. The top of the stipe (trunk-like robust stem) as well as the unfurling crosiers are covered in long silky straw-coloured scales. The crown is widely spread and the light-green leaves (called fronds) can reach between 4 and 6 meter long. Ferns do not bear flowers and therefore have no seeds, they reproduce via spores. Those are contained in small bag-like structures called sporangia, themselves grouped in clusters called sori attached to the underside of leaves. This species’ spores are globular and naked.
Habitat
It requires a warm and wet climate. It has to be planted in full or part-shade in a sheltered location. The plant will lose its fronds in case of frosts but can recover from it.
Uses
Ornamental.
Notes
Easy to grow, it is one of the most commonly found tree ferns in garden centres and in landscaping. However, it can easily escape from cultivation in warmer climates: it has thus become invasive in Hawaii as well as the Réunion Island.
Translated by: François Saint-Hillier – MNHN