Gymnosphaera metteniana
Species of fern
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gymnosphaera metteniana, synonyms Alsophila metteniana and Cyathea metteniana, is a species of tree fern native to the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, Taiwan, and southern China,[2] where it grows in wet forest, forest margins, and on hillsides.
| Gymnosphaera metteniana | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Embryophytes |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Division: | Polypodiophyta |
| Class: | Polypodiopsida |
| Order: | Cyatheales |
| Family: | Cyatheaceae |
| Genus: | Gymnosphaera |
| Species: | G. metteniana |
| Binomial name | |
| Gymnosphaera metteniana | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Plant description
The trunk of this plant is erect, up to 1 m tall, and 6–10 cm in diameter. G. metteniana has tripinnate fronds that are 1–2.5 m long. The stipe is brown to purple-black in colouration. It is covered in long, broad-based scales that are usually bicoloured (glossy brown with a paler margin). Sori are round, lack indusia, and occur in two rows, one on either side of the pinnule midvein.[3]
Nomenclature
The specific epithet metteniana commemorates pteridologist Georg Heinrich Mettenius (1823-1866), who named several Cyathea species.[3]
