[4] Alsophila australis was described in 1810 by Robert Brown from a specimen collected on King Island in Bass Strait, off the coast of Tasmania.

[5] Plants growing in southern Australia often lose their fronds by the end of winter, as is the case with Alsophila dregei in South Africa.

In its montane range, A. australis is ecologically important as it provides the nesting substrate for Exoneura robusta, a native species of reed bee.

Joseph Maiden recorded in 1889 that "The pulp of the top of the trunk is full of starch, and is eaten raw and roasted by the aboriginals.

This whitish substance is found in the middle of the tree from the base to the apex, and when boiled tastes like a bad turnip.

It grows in moist shady forest, both coastal and montane, at an altitude up to 1,280 m (4,200 ft), often in the company of Dicksonia antarctica.

Provided moisture levels remain high, it will tolerate frost and full sun, or shade in warmer regions.