Cyathea imbricata 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...

 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 Western New Guinea

Western New Guinea

West Papua informally refers to the Indonesian western half of the island of New Guinea and other smaller islands to its west. The region is officially administered as two provinces: Papua and West Papua. The eastern half of New Guinea is Papua New Guinea.The population of approximately 3 million...

, where it grows in open forest at an altitude of 3240 m. The trunk of this plant is erect and approximately 2 m tall. 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 are usually less than 1 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 dark, spiny, and covered with caducous 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. These scales are glossy brown in colouration and have a paler margin and 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 in groups of one to four per pinnule lobe. They are protected by firm indusia.

C. imbricata is similar to Cyathea macgregorii

Cyathea macgregorii

Cyathea macgregorii is a species of tree fern in the family Cyatheaceae. Its trunk is approximately 3 meters tall and about 24 centimeters thick. It has narrow and tripinnate fronds which are about 1 meter long, occurring in clusters of approximately 60, and form a round crown. The stipe is scaly...

and very similar to Cyathea gleichenioides

Cyathea gleichenioides

Cyathea gleichenioides is a species of tree fern endemic to New Guinea, where it grows in open peaty grassland and on forest margins, often in groups, at an altitude of 2800-3700 m. The trunk of this plant is erect, up to 3 m tall and about 24 cm in diameter. The narrow fronds are tripinnate and...

. It differs from the latter only in details of frond morphology

Comparative anatomy

Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in the anatomy of organisms. It is closely related to evolutionary biology and phylogeny .-Description:...

. Braggins and Large (2004) note that "it is possible these variations are ecological and that the species should be united".