A large plant with large leaves that can grow to over five feet (150 cm) tall. Its large leaves are used to shade other plants, thereby killing them and facilitating its own growth and spread. Its seeds are propagated by birds.

The leaves were huge. Each leaf can grow to over two feet (60 cm.) across and has almost a leathery appearance.

A large seedcone in the center of the plant can produce tens of thousands of seeds in a season. Each plant can have several seedcones, and can produce a quarter million seeds total each season per plant. The number of seeds and their spread by animals and birds, and the ability of the plant to grow from cuttings, have made it an invasive plant in other locations, such as New Zealand.

The plant grows individual stems from a single central core. Each new stem begins as a clump of not-yet unfurled leaves tucked together.

A small, new seedcone nestled among stems. Notice the texture of each stem and how that texture varies based on the age of the stem.

The huge leaves can overlap to the extent that they can block all sunlight to the ground below. That intense shade can prevent germination of other plants.

Here is a detail shot of the top of a leaf. Notice how its surface looks like rough skin, perhaps of a huge lizard or dinosaur.

The underneath view of a leaf shows how the plant has branches off its stem like normal plants, but the branching is internal to each leaf. The incorporation of branches into the leaf allow the plant to support such huge leaves.

This shrub grew alongside the path and was slowly over growing the it.