Byfield fern

plant

Also known as: Bowenia serrulata

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Last updated

July 22, 2026

Quick Summary

The Byfield fern, scientifically known as Bowenia serrulata, is one of two species in the genus Bowenia, native to Queensland, Australia. This palmlike cycad is sometimes grown as an ornamental plant.1

The Byfield fern has a large, subterranean stem from which its evergreen leaves grow. These leaves are bipinnately compound, meaning they are divided twice. As a gymnosperm, the plant produces seeds within cones that emerge from its underground stem. Fossil evidence indicates that related species existed as far back as the Eocene Epoch.1

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Bowenia
Both the Byfield fern (Bowenia serrulata) and B. spectabilis are sometimes cultivated as ornamentals in greenhouses and outdoors in warmer climates. Two extinct species, B. eocenica and B. papillosa, known from fossilized leaflet fragments from Victoria and New South Wales respectively, date to the Eocene Epoch
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Both the Byfield fern (Bowenia serrulata) and B. spectabilis are sometimes cultivated as ornamentals in greenhouses and outdoors in warmer climates. Two extinct species, B. eocenica and B. papillosa, known from fossilized leaflet fragments from Victoria and New South Wales respectively, date to the Eocene Epoch
Read More