Fern Swamp

In this section of the gully, we start to see many different types of ferns. It is interesting to consider that ferns are an ancient group of plants that predate dinosaurs! For most of the time that dinosaurs roamed the land, there were no flowering plants or grasses, so herbaceous dinos likely grazed on ferns such as these and native conifers. Creatures like Leaellynasaura are likely to have lived in this type of habitat, and are believed to have been only 90cm long when fully grown. Can you imagine a herd of tiny dinosaurs crashing through this forest?

This is also a good place to notice the layering of life that happens in ferns gullies, with epiphytic ferns, fungi, liverworts and mosses growing on the trunks of other plants. With each layer, the range of insects and other fauna that are supported increases as different food and habitats are available. Biodiversity in action.