Cyathea gregaria
Encyclopedia
Cyathea gregaria is a species of tree fern
endemic
to eastern New Guinea
, where it grows in lowland forest and coastal rain forest, often forming clumps, at an elevation of up to 100 m. The trunk of this plant is erect and usually 4-5 m tall and about 10 cm in diameter. Frond
s may be bi- or tripinnate and 2-3 m in length. The stipe
bears spines, but has few scale
s. These sclaes are medium brown in colouration and have a paler margin. Sori
occur near the fertile pinnule midvein and lack indusia.
Cyatheales
The order Cyatheales is a taxonomic division of the fern subclass, Cyatheatae, which includes the tree ferns. No clear morphological features characterize all of the Cyatheales, but DNA sequence data indicates that the order is monophyletic. Some species in the Cyatheales have tree-like growth...
endemic
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
to eastern New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, where it grows in lowland forest and coastal rain forest, often forming clumps, at an elevation of up to 100 m. The trunk of this plant is erect and usually 4-5 m tall and about 10 cm in diameter. Frond
Frond
The term frond refers to a large, divided leaf. In both common usage and botanical nomenclature, the leaves of ferns are referred to as fronds and some botanists restrict the term to this group...
s may be bi- or tripinnate and 2-3 m in length. The stipe
Stipe (botany)
In botany, a stipe is a stalk that supports some other structure. The precise meaning is different depending on which taxonomic group is being described....
bears spines, but has few scale
Scale (zoology)
In most biological nomenclature, a scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of an animal's skin to provide protection. In lepidopteran species, scales are plates on the surface of the insect wing, and provide coloration...
s. These sclaes are medium brown in colouration and have a paler margin. Sori
Sorus
A sorus is a cluster of sporangia .In fungi and lichens, the sorus is surrounded by an external layer. In some red algae it may take the form of a depression into the thallus....
occur near the fertile pinnule midvein and lack indusia.