mamaku

Cyathea medullaris

Habit: Tall tree fern.

Claims to fame: One of the world’s tallest tree ferns.

Traditional uses: The pith of the trunk, the bases of the stems of the fronds, and uncurling, new fronds can be eaten (Crowe, 2004, A Field Guide to the Native Edible Plants of New Zealand, Penguin).  Treatment of skin problems, sore eyes, parasites, and diarrhoea (Brooker et al., 2002, New Zealand Medicinal Plants, Reed).

Distribution/ecology: Lowland forest in the North Island and the northern South Island.  A common pioneer of regenerating hillsides in warmer, wetter areas.  Also indigenous to some Pacific islands.

Relationships: A scaly tree fern, like silver fern (ponga, Cyathea dealbata); the Dicksonia tree ferns (for example, wheki or Dicksonia squarrosa) are instead hairy.

Identification: The thick, black bases of the frond stems make mamaku recognisable even at a distance.

Bush City locations: Spread throughout, but good views from the upper entrance and the swing bridge.  Mamaku is the most common tree fern in Bush City.  Wheki and ponga are also present.