Todea barbara, being from the Osmundaceae family does best in or near water in damp ground. Still a rare fern in cultivation.
Fronds are bipinnate, forms a large fibrous trunk over time. Evergreen in milder parts but will defoliate in freezing conditions. Another must to try if you have the right conditions for this lovely fern. Trunks form relatively quickly if planted in very wet, damp conditions. All the bigger trunked plants survived the severe winters in each end of 2010 experienced in Kells.
This is one highly recommend, especially if you have a very wet area this is an ideal fern.
Hardiness : Hardy to -5 Celsius without the ground freezing and I suspect they can take a few degrees colder than this. More mature plants with trunks will survive lower temperatures