Pseudopanax ferox, Toothed Lancewood, is another wonderful architectural plant from New Zealand where it usually grows in moist semi-shade. A tall growing tree with a slender trunk and long narrow brownish-grey leaves that are indented with toothlike serrations, it is one of the most striking plants in the New Zealand bush and always a joy to encounter, although neither it nor the very closely-related Pseudopanax crassifolius are particularly common and a sighting, whether of a juvenile with its characteristic jagged foliage or of a tall mature tree with its distinctive and impressively straight pole-like trunk, is always memorable.

Pseudopanax ferox is a slow-growing plant that takes many years to reach maturity. When it does, its foliage changes, becoming somewhat more ordinary-looking, fuller and more ovoid. It appreciates a slightly acidic humus-rich soil with plenty of organic content and it should be kept moist, particularly during the summer months, when its growth rate can be pushed a little by liquid seaweed or a balanced nitrogen-rich liquid fertiliser. It is not fully hardy in the UK and does best in the milder coastal parts of the country and in urban microclimates. Younger plants in particular are susceptible to being checked by a frost and although its tough leathery foliage is perfectly capable of enduring full sun it prefers the shaded shelter of other trees and is ideal in a woodland or jungle setting. In the shelter of such a microclimate it has the shade, moisture and frost protection it needs.