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Story: Ferns and lycophytes

Fern-covered stream banks

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Fern-covered stream banks

Ferns are such a feature of New Zealand’s forests that the country was described as the land of ferns by early writers. This is a common scene in New Zealand’s forests – tree ferns with their spreading crown of leafy fronds growing alongside a stream and steep banks densely covered in kiokio.

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Department of Conservation

Reference: 10050843

by Chris Rudge

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How to cite this page

Patrick Brownsey, Ferns and lycophytes – Land of ferns, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/10849/fern-covered-stream-banks (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Patrick Brownsey, published 1 March 2009.