readily after re-location. It can provide habitat for epiphytes and also provides shelter for more delicate fern species to flourish underneath. Plant in organic soils and ensure the fern is kept mulched and watered. Dicksonia antarctica generally requires a minimum rainfall of 500 mm (20 inches) per year. In dry climates, a drip irrigation or spray system applied overhead is the most effective method of watering. It is best to leave old fronds on the plant in order to protect the trunk from cold and desiccation. Winter protection of the trunk is recommended during prolonged or severe cold weather. This plant is particularly suited to garden planting and landscaping purposes. As an ornamental plant, it is hardy to about , succeeding outdoors in the milder areas of Britain where it thrives and often self-sows in Cornish and Scottish west coast gardens. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Harvesting Large Dicksonia antarctica available for sale come from old growth Tasmanian forests, and may be hundreds of years old. The trunks are also available legally from local suppliers who licence collection of minor species from Forestry Tasmania, the State Government GBE who manage forestry. Edibility The soft tree fern can be used as a food source, with the pith of the plant being eaten either cooked or raw. It is a good source of starch. The 1889 book 'The Useful Native Plants of Australia records that "The pulp of the top of the trunk is full of starch, and is eaten by the aboriginals [sic.] both raw and roasted. The native blacks [sic.] of the colony used to split open about a foot and a-half of the top of the trunk, and take out the heart, in substance resembling a Swedish turnip, and of the thickness of a man's arm. This they either roasted in the ashes, or ate as bread; but it is too bitter and astringent to suit an English palate. (Gunn)" See also Cyathea howeana Richea pandanifolia References External links Plants For a Future: Dicksonia antarctica Australian National Botanic Gardens: Dicksonia antarctica – the soft tree fern Large, M.F. and J.E. Braggins 2004. Tree Ferns. Timber Press, Inc. Fern Files: Dicksonia antarctica Dicksoniaceae Ferns of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Tasmania Flora of Victoria (Australia) Trees of Australia Trees of mild maritime climate Garden plants of Oceania Ornamental trees Plants described