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Dicksonia antartica
Life and Mathematics. This is a very nice example of fractal shape (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractal). The same motif is repeated at different scales "ad infinitum". It has also a nice glide reflection symmetry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glide_refle...) by the way the leaves and twigs are distributed. These ferns typically grow to about 4.5-5 m, and consist of an erect rhizome forming a trunk. They are very hairy at the base of the stipe (trunk). The large, dark green, roughly-textured fronds spread in a canopy of 2-6 m in diameter. The shapes of the stems vary as some grow curved and there are multi-headed ones. The fronds are borne in flushes, with fertile and sterile fronds often in alternating layers.
Dicksonia antarctica, known as the Soft Tree Fern, Man Fern or Tasmanian Tree Fern, is an evergreen tree fern native to parts of Australia, namely south-east Queensland, coastal New South Wales and Victoria and Tasmania. This specimen was spotted at the Invernadero del Palacio de Cristal de la Arganzuela, Madrid
Spotted on Feb 26, 2012
Submitted on Mar 12, 2012
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