Dicksonia fibrosa, wheki-ponga, Kuiripaka or golden tree fern is endemic to the North, South, Stewart, and Chatham Islands, but is uncommon north of the Waikato River and Coromandel Peninsula. A subcanopy species, it is found in lowland to montane forest, or in semi-open country in the North Island, and in coastal and montane areas in the South. It is easily recognised by its thick fibrous trunk that grows slowly up to 6m tall, with a heavy skirt of completely dead fronds. It has a dense crown of short-stalked, rather narrow fronds. A very hardy tree fern that grows in, and perhaps the only one that tolerates open country reasonably well in a moderately sunny site and also tolerates frost.