Family
Blechnaceae

Distribution
North Island, South Island as far as Queenstown. Also found in the Philippine Islands.

Description
A rhizomatous fern to 1m in height and forming patches many metres wide. Leaves up to 50 cm long by 20 cm wide. Leaves are dark green and acutely pointed at the tips. Unlike the typical Blechnum species this one does not have a distinct fertile frond, so the plant does not have a messy appearance when producing its spore. The trunk is slender, perhaps only 2 - 3 cm wide, up to a metre tall and dark brown or black in colour.

Cultivation
Plant in dappled light in a cool place that has high acidity. Best in a situation that doesn't dry out too often or get too wet. This is a plant that comes from high rain fall areas and usually growing where there is a lot of clay. Wind is not a problem to plants that are well established, as they can be found around coastal areas. B. fraseri does not like root disturbance or lots of fertiliser. It can be very fussy and may take time to establish, but once it decides to be happy and healthy it will grow quite fast. Make sure it has plenty of room to grow as it would be rather annoying to have to trim a plant that's as hard to grow and beautiful as this. You don't want have to down size it!