Cyathea dicksonioides
Encyclopedia
Cyathea dicksonioides is a species of tree fern
native to northeastern New Guinea
, where it grows in grassland at an altitude of 2600-2900 m. It is a relatively uncommon species. The erect trunk may be 3 m tall or more and about 20 cm in diameter. Frond
s are bi- or tripinnate and approximately 1 m long. They are erect and bristly, forming an irregular crown. The fronds occur in two whorls of 10-12 fronds each, with the inner of the two whorls bending downward towards the trunk. The stipe
is covered with glossy scale
s that have narrow, pale and fragile edges. Two to four sori
occur per fertile pinnule. They are covered by firm, pale indusia that are hood-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 northeastern 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 grassland at an altitude of 2600-2900 m. It is a relatively uncommon species. The erect trunk may be 3 m tall or more and about 20 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 bi- or tripinnate and approximately 1 m long. They are erect and bristly, forming an irregular crown. The fronds occur in two whorls of 10-12 fronds each, with the inner of the two whorls bending downward towards the trunk. 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 glossy 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 narrow, pale and fragile edges. Two to four 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 per fertile pinnule. They are covered by firm, pale indusia that are hood-like in appearance.