Alsophila spinulosa (Wall. ex Hook.) R. M. Tryon, Contr. Gray Herb. 200: 32 1970. (syn: Alsophila boninsimensis (Christ ex Diels) Christ; Alsophila confucii Christ; Alsophila decipiens J. Scott ex Bedd.; Alsophila fauriei Christ; Alsophila taiwaniana Nakai; Amphicosmia decipiens (J. Scott ex Bedd.) Bedd.; Cyathea austrosinica Christ; Cyathea boninsimensis (Christ ex Diels) Copel.; Cyathea confucii (Christ) Copel.; Cyathea decipiens (J. Scott ex Bedd.) C. B. Cl. & Bak.; Cyathea fauriei (Christ) Copel.; Cyathea spinulosa Wall. (ambiguous synonym); Cyathea spinulosa Wall. ex Hook., Sp. Fil. (ambiguous synonym); Cyathea taiwaniana Nakai; Hemitelia beddomei C. B. Cl.; Hemitelia boninsimensis Christ ex Diels; Hemitelia decipiens (J. Scott ex Bedd.) Scott); China (Chongqing, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Jiangxi, Sichuan,
Yunnan), SE-Tibet, Taiwan, Ryukyu Isl., Bangladesh, India (Andhra Pradesh,
Arunachal Pradesh, Assam State, Chhattisgarh, ?Goa, Jharkhand, Karnataka,
Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, ?Mizoram, Nagaland,
Odisha, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, West Bengal), Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar
[Burma], N-Thailand, Vietnam, Bonin Isl. (Chichijima, Hahajima), Volcano Isl.
(Kita-Iwojima, Minami-Iwojima) as per Catalogue of Life; Tree fern;
Cyathea spinulosa Wall. ex Hook. Common name: Tree fern Famly: Cyathaeaceae Date: 17.05.2010 Location: Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand Note: This is the only tree fern found in Western Himalaya in India. The person standing below in one of the pics is Dr. Amit Kotiya, who happens to be one of able member of this group, a very good taxonomist and field botanist. Description of the Fern from the link below http://www.trebrown.com/plant_info.php?species=Cyathea%20spinulosa I don't think we should unscrupulously follow the description of an Indian plant from anywhere else in the world, whether it is Pakistan, China or Taiwan. Just in the case of current link given by .., trunk of my plant was sometimes over 15cm in diameter though it never reached 6 meter but it was somewhere around 4m in height. My plant was not found in dark forest as you can see the area was so bright that I had even problems in taking pictures. To be specific the particular individuals in the pic were growing near a stream in a Pinus roxburghii forest. Rocky stream was almost dried up but may be some water was there in the rocky crevices. I hope people will take my comments in good spirits. Presence of spines on the stipes are the main feature to identify this Cyathea. This fern is very common in Arunachal Pradesh. Locally called as 'Tange' by 'Adi' tribes who use to feed the stem part to their cattle after peeling out the spiny layer. Additionally, C. gigantea and C. andersonii are also reported from this region. You are right but in Western Himalaya this is very rare. May be because of lower humidity, but not sure....
Tree Fern Id from Bangladesh_SM_1450 : 17 posts by 5 authors. Attachments (1) Location: Sangu Matamuri Wildlife Sanctuary, Bandarban Picture taken: February, 2019 I think this is insufficient for id. Pl. post detailed images, if you have. Agree totally and wholeheartedly with … sending in these kinds of pictures by botanists or related science workers is not really desirable for science in general or for the project they are working on. what a waste of time and energy by all and what would a student of next generation learn from us???? please be mindful. Sorry for inconvenience No problem, thanks! … you have not understood this. its delay in your work. isn't it? you as a forest officer are trying to accomplish something, right? and we are here to help you identify what you cant, correct? or validate your ID. so if you take completely identifiable pictures. it helps you in your chosen endeavours. that's what its all about and in the process we feel good. that's all. but in science its validation of efforts by a science guy working in difficult situations and whatever you are trying to do. You are not new. you have been here for quite some time, so i would have liked to have seen a response like: thanks … when i go next in that area i will get better complete set of pictures and from now on i will Endeavor to take more details Thanks for your time and great advices. I would go accordingly now onward. that's the spirit. be positive, you will go a long way, your work will progress well No, sorry - it is as you say entirely insufficient. ll the literature talks about the indument under the pinnules and I have said it hundreds of times. For tree-ferns we have to have a close up of the underside of a pinnules and to see young sori as well. And we also need to know if the stipe is spiny or smooth, pale or more-or-less black. In general it looks most like the common C. spinulosa (syn.: Alsophila spinulosa), but no one can tell from a general picture like this. I can only say it's a tree-fern! Another view. It was not possible to get close shot despite of its present in top hill. Attachments (1) - 725 kb. so, pictures needed are 1: indument - a covering of fine hairs (or sometimes scales) as on a leaf or insect. indumentum. covering, natural covering, cover - a natural object that covers or envelops; "under a covering of dust"; "the fox was flushed from its cover" 2: Leaves and indument of species of Polystichopsis. A–C. P. leucochaete. D–G. P. chaerophylloides. A. Fertile leaf. B. Pinnule, abaxial surface. C. Indusium with acicular hairs. D. Fertile leaf. E. Rhizomes scales. F. Pinnule. G. Detail of sorus. (A–C drawn from Maxon 2860, NY; D–G drawn from Britton et al. 5545, NY. from paper: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Leaves-and-indument-of-species-of-Polystichopsis-A-C-P-leucochaete-D-G-P_fig2_284148929fig F above shows underside of a pinnule . B in this one shows underside of a pinnule both figures are from a paper: == 3: stipe is identified in this figure photograph it well to show " And we also need to know if the stipe is spiny or smooth, pale or more-or-less black." as … has asked for. this pic is from a page i find is very useful for everybody who want to photograph frns for identification. plus the entire tree fern needs to be photographed i personally also like to see the surface features of the so called trunk of the tree fern . and any fiddleheads And if you can get underneath a tree, you look up and are rewarded as in this picture ... this is how i prepare for photographing something i have not done previously hope this of help It looks like Cyathia gigantia a tree fern, which is also found in Godavari district Yes, I do understand it can be difficult to reach tree-fern fronds. I've often stood at tip-toe on a steep slope attempting to hook down the tip of a frond with a stick to pull it slightly down to grab a few pinnules from the main pinna. Or sometimes throwing a stick or stone up to try to knock off a pinnule - which invariably falls out of reach into a deep ravine or something! But without this tree-ferns are just tree-ferns, no identification possible. Well the new photo shows the stipes are not dark or blackish, so that eliminates C. gigantea, C. khasiana, C. henryi and C. andersonii. But I can't see if they have short spines or not - if so, at that altitude and place it would be C. spinulosa, as expected. If not, probably C. brunoniana (nom. cons. prop.) (syn. C. sollyana) - but the pinnae are not in enough detail to see that. So for now I stick with probable C. spinulosa, but C. brunoniana as a possibility. C. brunoniana is rarer, so more interesting. It is good to see a large full-grown plant as so much forest there has been destroyed and used up. But because tree-ferns are OK in the sun (that was the point of the trunk-habit!), as long as the base is among dense undergrowth and does not dry up, I have seen quite a few decent-sized plants of tree-ferns in a few areas, such as towards the Meghalaya border north of Sylhet, near Jaintiapur (C. khasiyana) or down in the ravines at Kalatoli, near Cox's Bazaar (a great place Professor Pasha showed me - with C. henryi and a new species of Diplazium I found there, D. banglum), and of course around Banderban and up to the Myanmar border beyond Ruma (C. henryi) and have seen C. spinulosa about there too, though I didn't collect it. Can you revisit some time and throw a stick or stone up to grab a pinnule? And take a zoomed photo of the lower stipes to show scales and possible spines, then we can clinch its identity. References: |
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