Forest Cabbage-tree

Cussonia sphaerocephala
A Forest Cabbage Tree rises high above other trees at Ferncliffe
A Forest Cabbage Tree rises high above other trees at Ferncliffe
Connor Cullinan

Ferncliffe is rich in these characterful forest trees — perhaps because the tall, slender trunks have helped repel invasive creepers more successfully than their ordinarily branched kin. Historically, a large population has always grown in the Pietermaritzburg/Hilton area. The leaves are huge, with stalks sometimes nearly a metre long!