| Alsophila sternbergii | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Division: | Polypodiophyta |
| Class: | Polypodiopsida |
| Order: | Cyatheales |
| Family: | Cyatheaceae |
| Genus: | Alsophila |
| Species: | A. sternbergii |
| Binomial name | |
| Alsophila sternbergii (Sternb.) D.S.Conant [1] | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Alsophila sternbergii is a species of tree fern in the family Cyatheaceae. [1]
The Cyatheaceae are a family of tree ferns, the scaly tree ferns, one of eight families in the order Cyatheales in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016. Alternatively, the family may defined much more broadly as the only family in the Cyatheales, with the PPG I family treated as the subfamily Cyatheoideae. The narrower circumscription is used in this article.
Alsophila australis, synonym Cyathea australis, also known as the rough tree fern, is a species of tree fern native to southeastern Queensland, New South Wales and southern Victoria in Australia, as well as Tasmania and Norfolk Island.
Alsophila balanocarpa, synonym Cyathea balanocarpa, is a species of tree fern native to Cuba, Jamaica and Hispaniola. Despite its wide distribution, little is known about this species. It is apparently of hybrid origin.
Alsophila bryophila, synonym Cyathea bryophila, is a species of tree fern native to Puerto Rico, where it grows in the understory in wet montane and mossy forest at an altitude of 750–1200 m. The trunk is erect, up to 7 m tall and about 10 cm in diameter. Fronds are pinnate or bipinnate and grow to 2 m in length. The underside of the rachis is pubescent and has occasional scales towards the base. The scales range in colour from brown to bicoloured. Sori occur along each side of the pinnule midvein and are covered by scale-like indusia. A. bryophila is a slow growing species, reportedly only increasing in trunk height by 5 cm a year, a growth rate more akin to that of Dicksonia species. It has been estimated that plants may live in excess of 150 years.
Alsophila capensis, synonym Cyathea capensis, is a regionally widespread and highly variable species of tree fern. It is indigenous to Southern Africa and South America.
Alsophila jimeneziana, synonym Cyathea crassa, is a species of tree fern endemic to the Dominican Republic. Little is known about this rare tree fern.
Alsophila cunninghamii, synonym Cyathea cunninghamii, also known as the gully tree fern and slender tree fern, is a species of tree fern indigenous to New Zealand including North Island, South Island and Chatham Islands; also to Victoria, possibly New South Wales, southeastern Queensland and Tasmania in Australia. It grows in damp forest, often emerging from stream gullies and riverbanks. Brownsey noted that it has a lower tolerance for drought than other related species. The erect trunk may be 20 m tall and is usually 6–15 cm in diameter, occasionally as much as 20 cm. Fronds are tri- to tetrapinnate and 3 m or more in length. The rachis and stipe are slender, black brown, warty and covered with brown scales. Sori occur along each side of the pinnule midvein and are covered by hood-like indusia. A. cunninghamii is an uncommon and slow-growing tree fern.
Alsophila dregei, synonym Cyathea dregei, is a widespread species of tree fern in southern Africa.
Alsophila dryopteroides, synonym Cyathea dryopteroides, is a tree fern native to Puerto Rico, where it grows at an altitude of 1000–1200 m.
Alsophila fulgens, synonym Cyathea fulgens, is a species of tree fern native to Cuba, Jamaica and Hispaniola. It forms part of the complex centered on Alsophila woodwardioides comprising six very similar taxa from the Greater Antilles. The other five species are Alsophila jimeneziana, Alsophila grevilleana, Alsophila portoricensis and Alsophila tussacii. Large and Braggins (2004) note that this group is known to cross with members of the Alsophila minor complex. In the wild, A. fulgens also forms hybrids with Alsophila brooksii.
Alsophila gigantea, synonym Cyathea gigantea, is a species of tree fern native to northeastern to southern India, Sri Lanka, Nepal to Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, the Malay Peninsula, as well as central Sumatra and western Java. It grows in moist open areas at an altitude of 600–1000 m. The trunk of this species is erect and may be as tall as 5 m or more. Fronds are bi- or tripinnate and usually 2–3 m long. The rachis is long, dark to black in colouration and rough in appearance after the fall of scales. These scales are dark brown, glossy and have a narrow paler margin and fragile edges. Sori are round and indusia absent.
Alsophila gleichenioides, synonym Cyathea gleichenioides, is a species of tree fern endemic to New Guinea, where it grows in open peaty grassland and on forest margins, often in groups, at an altitude of 2800–3700 m. The trunk of this plant is erect, up to 3 m tall and about 24 cm in diameter. The narrow fronds are tripinnate and about 1 m in length. Around 60 fronds form a rounded crown. The stipe is warty and bears scattered scales towards the base. These scales may be either glossy brown with a paler dull margin, or small, pale and fringed. Sori occur one or two per fertile pinnule and are protected by firm, brown indusia.
Alsophila grevilleana, synonym Cyathea grevilleana, is a species of tree fern endemic to Jamaica, where it grows in moist gullies and on wooded hills in both calcareous and noncalcareous soils at an altitude of 200–1200 m. The trunk of this plant is erect, about 7 m tall, and 10–15 cm in diameter. It is characteristically clothed in old stipe bases, brown scales and blackish spines. Fronds are tripinnate, dark green in colour, and up to 4 m in length. The last pinnae are sometimes separated, forming a distinctive clump around the trunk apex. The rachis is yellow-brown and almost smooth. This species has a long, dark brown stipe with a few scattered spines. Sori are produced in four to six pairs along the pinnule midvein. They are protected by pale brown indusia that are cup-like in appearance.
Alsophila acaulis, synonym Cyathea hancockii, is a species of tree fern native to the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The specific epithet hancockii commemorates William Hancock (1847-1914), who collected numerous plants in Japan, China and Southeast Asia. It grows in forest, on stream banks, and in forest margins at an elevation of about 600 m or higher.
Alsophila × marcescens, synonym Cyathea × marcescens, commonly known as the skirted tree fern, is a tree fern endemic to the Cape Otway ranges in Victoria and Tasmania, Australia. It is a natural hybrid, apparently Alsophila australis × Alsophila cunninghamii. Large and Braggins (2004) note that it has characteristics midway between these two species. The spores of A. × marcescens are usually malformed although sterile. The trunk of this plant is erect and up to 10 m tall. Fronds may be bi- or tripinnate and 3–4 m in length. Dead fronds often persist, forming a characteristic skirt around the trunk. The stipe is thick, black and warty. The rachis and trunk are covered in shiny, dark brown scales. Sori are borne near the fertile pinnule midvein and are protected by thin indusia that are saucer-like in appearance.
Alsophila latebrosa, synonym Cyathea latebrosa, is a common and widespread species of tree fern native to Indochina. Its natural range covers Cambodia and Thailand, and stretches from the Malay Peninsula to Indonesia, where it is present on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Plants reported from India and Sri Lanka have thinner indusia and may represent a separate, as-yet undescribed, species. A. latebrosa grows in a wide range of habitats, including forest, secondary forest, and plantations, from sea level up to an elevation of about 1500 m.
Alsophila × boytelii is a tree fern endemic to the Sierra Maestra range of southeastern Cuba. It is a natural interspecific hybrid between Alsophila balanocarpa and Alsophila woodwardioides. The spores of A. × boytelii are normal in appearance; Caluff and Serrano (2002) suggest that it might therefore be fertile. This theory is strengthened by the presence of a large population of A. × boytelii in the Gran Piedra area. Caluff and Serrano (2002) note that "a full range of intermediates linking this hybrid with its parent species suggests the occurrence of backcrossing".
Alsophila × fagildei is a tree fern endemic to the Sierra de Moa and Sierra del Purial in Guantánamo Province, Cuba. It is a natural interspecific hybrid between Alsophila minor and Alsophila woodwardioides. The spores of A. × fagildei are normal in appearance; Caluff and Serrano (2002) suggest that it might therefore be fertile.
Alsophila is a genus of tree ferns in the family Cyatheaceae. It has also been considered to be a section in the subgenus Cyathea of the genus Cyathea.
Alsophila smithii, synonym Cyathea smithii, commonly known as the soft tree fern or kātote, is a species of tree fern from New Zealand.