How proud we are of the Silver Ferns, especially when they beat Australia. Netball’s Constellation Cup recently crossed the Tasman to spend some time in New Zealand, paving the way for Aussie tourists.
In women’s rugby, the Black Ferns have dominated the rest of the world for years, and will no doubt turn in some impressive performances for the Rugby World Cup 2022 being held here.
Then there’s the White Ferns, the women’s national cricket team; the Tall Ferns, the women’s national basketball team; and the Football Ferns, the women’s national association football team.
Lest anyone gets the impression that the fern symbol is reserved for women’s sport, it has of course been used by men’s rugby teams since 1888-89, when a New Zealand Native football (rugby union) team toured Britain, Ireland and Australia, as well as New Zealand.
A fern frond was proudly displayed on the jerseys of the All Black Originals in 1905-1906 and has become an essential part of the All Blacks’ image on their black shirts. The national teams of most other sports codes in New Zealand now also include a fern in their brand.
Turning from sport to actual combat, New Zealand soldiers have used the silver fern as an official emblem since the Second Boer War (1899-1902), and it adorns the tombstones of all fallen New Zealand soldiers in Commonwealth war graves.
It’s a wonder we’re not called "Fernies" instead of "Kiwis". Along with nikau palms, tree ferns helped to give New Zealand the image of a sub-tropical South Seas paradise for British people seeking better lives in the 1800s. It’s doubtful any of them knew then that some tree ferns happily grow in some very chilly climates. The soft tree fern (Alsophila smithii, synonym Cyathea smithii) even thrives on the Auckland Islands well south of Stewart Island/Rakiura.
Out of about 200 species of native ferns, there are half a dozen or so that qualify as tree ferns. The silver fern or ponga (Alsophila dealbata, synonym Cyathea dealbata) is the celebrity with the glamour. The Latin word dealbata means something like "being covered with white powder" — a pretty good description of the whitish undersides of the fronds. Given that silver fern fronds grace New Zealand’s coat of arms, it might surprise you to learn that it’s not an official national symbol. Then again, neither are the kiwi and kowhai.
I think it’s fair to say that New Zealanders have seen many more silver fern symbols than actual silver fern plants. These plants grow up to 12m high, but they’re not common outside Botanic Gardens and protected areas. Even then, they don’t grow naturally south of about Westport on the West Coast and Taieri Mouth on the East Coast. Dunedinites can still see them here and there in local reserves, but don’t expect to find any in native forest in the Catlins or in Southland.
When it comes to black tree ferns or mamaku (Sphaeropteris medullaris, synonym Cyathea medullaris), it is Otago that misses out. They prefer it wetter. At up to 20m tall, mamaku can grow as high as any tree ferns in the world. The lone surviving mamaku beside the western wall of the Otago Museum is probably the one seen most often by Dunedin locals. Outside the city centre, the owners of properties between Tweed St and Stuart St have used the lacy parasols of some tall mamaku to achieve the kind of exotic tropical ambience that palms offer in warmer places.
By far the majority of tree ferns grown in Otago and Southland gardens are wheki or rough tree ferns (Dicksonia squarrosa) — the "punga trees" offered in garden centres. They’re a scruffy lot, but unlike other New Zealand tree ferns, they have the superpower of being able to grow from buds on the trunk once the head has been cut off. The owners of a property in Durham St, Mornington, must be big fans of wheki. Any visitors have to pass through a small forest of wheki just inside the front gate.
