Cyathea hunsteiniana
Encyclopedia
Cyathea hunsteiniana is a species of tree fern
endemic
to eastern New Guinea
, where it grows in rain forest at an altitude of 1300-2000 m. This species has a slender, erect trunk up to 1 m tall and about 3 cm in diameter. Frond
s are bipinnate and approximately 1 m in length. Scattered scale
s cover the stipe
. They are dark brown in colouration and have a broad paler margin and fragile edges. Round sori
are borne one or two per fertile pinnule segment. The sori are protected by deep, firm indusia that are cup-like in appearance.
Braggins and Large (2004) note that C. hunsteiniana is very similar to Cyathea perpelvigeria, but differs in the lack of scales on the fronds.
Two distinct varieties
of C. hunsteiniana are known. C. h. var. acuminata is usually a less robust plant than the type
variety, and generally grows in shady places. It is possible that it simply represents an ecological variant of this taxon
.
C. hunsteiniana is not to be confused with Alsophila hunsteiniana (Brause, 1920), a synonym of Cyathea rubiginosa. When Rolla Milton Tryon transferred this taxon
to the genus
Alsophila, he chose the specific epithet
brausei, commemorating Guido Georg Wilhelm Brause (1847-1922), who had originally described it.
The specific epithet
hunsteiniana commemorates plant collector Carl Hunstein
(1843-1888).
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 rain forest at an altitude of 1300-2000 m. This species has a slender, erect trunk up to 1 m tall and about 3 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 are bipinnate and approximately 1 m in length. 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 cover 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....
. They are dark brown in colouration and have a broad paler margin and fragile edges. Round 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 one or two per fertile pinnule segment. The sori are protected by deep, firm indusia that are cup-like in appearance.
Braggins and Large (2004) note that C. hunsteiniana is very similar to Cyathea perpelvigeria, but differs in the lack of scales on the fronds.
Two distinct varieties
Variety (biology)
In botanical nomenclature, variety is a taxonomic rank below that of species: as such, it gets a three-part infraspecific name....
of C. hunsteiniana are known. C. h. var. acuminata is usually a less robust plant than 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...
variety, and generally grows in shady places. It is possible that it simply represents an ecological variant of this taxon
Taxon
|thumb|270px|[[African elephants]] form a widely-accepted taxon, the [[genus]] LoxodontaA taxon is a group of organisms, which a taxonomist adjudges to be a unit. Usually a taxon is given a name and a rank, although neither is a requirement...
.
C. hunsteiniana is not to be confused with Alsophila hunsteiniana (Brause, 1920), a synonym of Cyathea rubiginosa. When Rolla Milton Tryon transferred this taxon
Taxon
|thumb|270px|[[African elephants]] form a widely-accepted taxon, the [[genus]] LoxodontaA taxon is a group of organisms, which a taxonomist adjudges to be a unit. Usually a taxon is given a name and a rank, although neither is a requirement...
to the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Alsophila, he chose the specific epithet
Epithet
An epithet or byname is a descriptive term accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, divinities, objects, and binomial nomenclature. It is also a descriptive title...
brausei, commemorating Guido Georg Wilhelm Brause (1847-1922), who had originally described it.
The specific epithet
Epithet
An epithet or byname is a descriptive term accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, divinities, objects, and binomial nomenclature. It is also a descriptive title...
hunsteiniana commemorates plant collector Carl Hunstein
Carl Hunstein
Carl Hunstein was a German administrator, ornithologist and plant collector.Hunstein was born in Homberg/Efze, Germany...
(1843-1888).