Cyathea horridula
Encyclopedia
Cyathea horridula is a species of tree fern
native to western New Guinea
, where it grows in montane forest at an altitude of approximately 1700 m. It is a rare plant known only from the type
locality. This plant has an erect trunk up to 3 m tall or more. Frond
s may be bi- or tripinnate and 1-2 m in length. The stipe
is covered with spines and bears scattered scale
s towards the base. These scales are pale and have fragile edges. Sori
are borne near the fertile pinnule midvein . They are protected by small, dark brown indusia that are saucer-like in appearance.
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...
native to western 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 montane forest at an altitude of approximately 1700 m. It is a rare plant known only from the type
Holotype
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
locality. This plant has an erect trunk up to 3 m tall or more. 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 1-2 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....
is covered with spines and bears scattered 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 towards the base. These scales are pale and have fragile edges. 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....
are borne near the fertile pinnule midvein . They are protected by small, dark brown indusia that are saucer-like in appearance.