Hidden away in a narrow side canyon of Carnarvon Gorge, is this isolated community of ferns dominated by Angiopteris evecta. Protected naturally from fire and grazing and now from tourists this community is an isolated outlier. It is well watered by seepage from the Precipice sandstone that forms the walls of the canyon.
Angiopteris evecta is commonly known as the king fern, or in our region it is also known as Fraser Island Fern, for that is the other location where they are known to grow, naturally. (We have some in our fernery!) It is a very large rainforest fern in the family Marattiaceae native to most parts of Southeast Asia and Oceania. Fraser Island is a coastal sand mass and yet it supports rain forests including this giant fern. If that is not unique enough, the photographed example is at a location 500 kms away and 500 kms from the coast and in the grazing region of central Queensland!
It has a history dating back about 300 million years, and is believed to have the longest fronds of any fern in the world.
Angiopteris evecta is a self-supporting evergreen perennial fern with very large bipinnate fronds. The trunk-like rhizome is massive, measuring up to 1 m in diameter. The older portions of the rhizome lie on the ground while the newer growth may rise vertically up to 1.5 m high.
The arching, glossy green fronds, which emerge from the tip of the rhizome, may reach up to 9 m long and 2.5 m wide, with the fleshy green petiole (leaf stem) making up 2 m of that length. They are recognized as the longest fern fronds in the world. Despite their enormous size they have no woody strengthening tissues in the fronds to keep them erect—instead they are supported entirely by the hydraulic pressure of the sap.
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