Attractions | Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens

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Tasmanian Fernery

The current Fernery was constructed in 1964, replacing Tasmanian Fernery an earlier one on the south side of the lily pond. It was designed by then Gardens Superintendent, Walter Tobias, and modified in 1974 when the cascading watercourse was created.

During 2001 the RTBG initiated a project to collect Tasmanian fern species with the objective of displaying a representative Tasmanian collection in the fernery. The resulting display is a collection of provenanced ferns and related species.

A number of state wide field trips have been conducted by RTBG staff, with over 40 Fern and fern ally species (roughly half the total) collected thus far. Collection is ongoing and several of the species on display are listed as rare and threatened.

The display demonstrates the variety of form, shape and size of Tasmania's fern species with specimens ranging from tiny delicate filmy ferns to the substantial thick-trunked tree ferns (Dicksonia Antarctica). The display also includes associated flowering specimens and opportunistic moss species.