Cyathea cincinnata is a species of tree fern

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 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 at an altitude of 1300 m or higher. It is known only from a few collections in the Sepik region (East Sepik

East Sepik

East Sepik is a province in Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Wewak. East Sepik has an estimated population of 343,180 people and is roughly 42,800 km square in size.-History:...

 and West Sepik

Sandaun

Sandaun Province, officially West Sepik Province, is the north-westernmost province of Papua New Guinea. It covers an area of 36,300 km² and has a population of 185,741 . The capital is Vanimo...

). The trunk is erect and short. 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 bi- or tripinnate and 1-1.5 m long. 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 many glossy brown 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 that have a distinctive black central band and dull 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 round, occur near the fertile pinnule midvein. They are covered by firm, brown indusia that are cup-like in appearance.