Cyathea × marcescens, commonly known as the Skirted Tree Fern, is a 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 the Cape Otway

Cape Otway

Cape Otway is a cape in south Victoria, Australia on the Great Ocean Road; much of the area is enclosed in the Otway National Park.-History:...

 ranges in Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

 and Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. It is a natural hybrid, apparently Cyathea australis

Cyathea australis

Cyathea australis, also known as the Rough Tree Fern, is a species of tree fern native to southeastern Queensland, New South Wales and southern Victoria in Australia, as well as Tasmania and Norfolk Island. It grows in moist shady forest, both coastal and montane, at an altitude of up to 1280 m,...

× Cyathea cunninghamii

Cyathea cunninghamii

Cyathea cunninghamii, also known as the gully tree fern and slender tree fern, is a species of tree fern native to Victoria, New South Wales, southeastern Queensland and Tasmania in Australia, as well as North Island, South Island and Chatham Islands in New Zealand...

. Braggins and Large (2004) note that it has characteristics midway between these two species. The spore

Spore

In biology, a spore is a reproductive structure that is adapted for dispersal and surviving for extended periods of time in unfavorable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many bacteria, plants, algae, fungi and some protozoa. According to scientist Dr...

s of C. × marcescens are usually malformed although sterile

Infertility

Infertility primarily refers to the biological inability of a person to contribute to conception. Infertility may also refer to the state of a woman who is unable to carry a pregnancy to full term...

. The trunk of this plant is erect and up to 10 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 3-4 m in length. Dead fronds often persist, forming a characteristic skirt around 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 thick, black and warty. The rachis

Rachis

Rachis is a biological term for a main axis or "shaft".-In zoology:In vertebrates a rachis can refer to the series of articulated vertebrae, which encase the spinal cord. In this case the rachis usually form the supporting axis of the body and is then called the spine or vertebral column...

 and trunk are covered in shiny, dark 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. 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 near the fertile pinnule midvein and are protected by thin indusia that are saucer-like in appearance.

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...

 material was collected by N. A. Wakefield on Mount Drummer (specifically in Karlo Creek and "The Spring") in February, 1941 and Bungywarr Creek, Combienbar in August, 1941.

C. × marcescens is a slow-growing plant that is sensitive to dry conditions and requires shelter from the sun and the wind.