Fire Fern

About

One of the world's most abundant cycads, endemic to the Top End between the Finniss and Mary Rivers, with a population estimated at over ten million. Unusually for a cycad, it drops its leaves in the dry season and resprouts vigorously after early fires.

How to spot it

Stems reach up to 3 m (rarely 6 m) tall. Deciduous fronds 55-90 cm long with 100-220 leaflets, orange and downy when young, glossy green when mature. Orange male cones and yellow-coated seeds.

Found in

• Litchfield NP