Cyathea dregei - common tree fern,
               gewone boomvaring 

 Robust, stout trunked tree fern, with a dense crown. Native to South Africa, Zimbabwe, 
 Mozambique, and Madagascar. 
 It grows on stream banks, forest margins, and in open grasslands, where it sits right out
 in the open with no overhead cover. Trunk to 15' and 18-22" thick, sometimes branched.
 Large arching fronds to 9' or more. In the wild it is known to be fire resistant.

 A small plant growing outside in my garden, came through last winter, 2008/09, a hard 
 one here in Cornwall, and has now grown a sizable new frond, but only one frond. Seems
 to be quite a tough plant, but slow growing so far.



 Young plant of C. dregei

Cyathea dregei is not doing so well after experiencing another hard winter 2009/10 - not quite dead,
but almost. Not as tough as I thought it was.