Rarer but present in places is the Rough Tree Fern Cyathea australis . Along the permanent creeks in the ranges, the water ferns grow in thickets. In the wettest and most protected areas, you can see some of the rarer ferns to be found in the Territory, such as Bat's wing Fern, Histiopteris incisa , Filmy Ferns, and Kangaroo Fern, Microsorium diversifolium . This fern, and the sphagnum moss it grows among, is adapted to several weeks under snow cover each winter. This brings us to the wider picture, the understanding of the ecology of an area.
Ferns are an important part of that ecology.