Dear Lance, thank you very much. There are lots of tree ferns the one you are looking for is
Cibotium splendens that is the Hawaiian one. Unfortunately these are cut down to make compost to grow Orchids in! There are also lots in New Zealand, but they in certain areas are not touched as they are spiritual to the Maoris.
I love them, although of course they are not to everyone's taste as they do not flower or are really showy. I cherish mine because they were all grown from spores and not one was taken from the wild, which is the way it should be. For we take too much out of the order of things yet are very loath to out anything back, until it is too late. It annoys me to see wild ones brought to the UK and used as a status symbol as to who has the biggest, most expensive one. Especially as the owners probably do not know where they come from or the dangers facing them.
Here is another Dicksonia at the Chelsea Flower Show, it is probably the species native to south Queensland, but as it is rare in cultivation and I cannot see the sign, I am not totally sure.
Many people find them unusual, and people who see them in my garden stop and look sometimes in shock. However a lot of people think they are Palms, which they most certainly are not!
I enjoyed writing the Article about a thing I love, and it might just stop someone spending a lot of money for something that to me is stolen from the wild.
Kindest Regards.
Neil.
