Tree fern house

Stepping into the tree fern house (house 10) is like stepping into a magical forest. Originating from a distant past, tree ferns grow here on dark brown-red lava soil and mossy lava rock. Some of their trunks have wrapped themselves in a close-fitting dense green fur of tender-leaved moss plants. Other trunks clothe themselves in thick coats of innumerable shoot-bearing roots. The trunks bear imposing crowns of single- or multiple-pinnate fronds up to four meters long. When young – when they are still fully or partially curled at the tip – they offer a popular photo motif.
Although these fern relatives colonize cold high mountain zones and do not completely avoid areas with dry seasons, they prefer to settle in uniformly warm to cool areas without prolonged dry seasons. The vast majority are not hardy and therefore must be cultivated in a greenhouse.