Alsophila glaucifolia

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Alsophila glaucifolia
Cyathea glauca 02.JPG
Growing near the village of la , Réunion
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Polypodiophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Cyatheales
Family: Cyatheaceae
Genus: Alsophila
Species:
A. glaucifolia
Binomial name
Alsophila glaucifolia
R.M.Tryon[1]
Synonyms[1]
  • Cyathea glauca Bory

Alsophila glaucifolia, synonym Cyathea glauca,[1] is a species of tree fern endemic to Réunion. Little is known about this species.

Habitat and related species[]

A. glaucifolia grows at higher altitudes (1300-2000m) and it is one of three species of tree fern that are indigenous to Réunion island.

  • (syn. Cyathea excelsa) which also occurs in Mauritius, grows at slightly lower altitudes (200-1700m). Like A. glaucifolia, its leaves are tripinnate, but the new fronds of A. celsa are scaleless; those of A. glaucifolia have red-brown scales.
  • Alsophila borbonica (syn. Cyathea borbonica) is the only species with bipinnate fronds.[2][3]

  • The fronds are tripinnate (branching to three levels).

  • Growing under Acacia heterophylla in the forest of , Réunion

  • Detail of trunk and insertion of fronds. New growth is covered in red-brown scales. This serves to distinguish the species from the alien, non-indigenous Sphaeropteris cooperi (syn. Cyathea cooperi), which has red and white scales on its new growth.

  • The alien Sphaeropteris cooperi can be distinguished from A. glaucifolia by the red and white scales on its new fronds.

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "Alsophila glaucifolia R.M.Tryon". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  2. ^ M. Glaubrecht (2010): Evolution in Action: Case studies in Adaptive Radiation, Speciation and the Origin of Biodiversity. Springer Science & Business Media. Science. p.13.
  3. ^ A revision of the fern family Cyatheaceae in the Mascarene Islands (2006)

External links[]

Media related to Alsophila glaucifolia at Wikimedia Commons


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