Cyathea javanica
| Cyathea javanica | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Pteridophyta |
| Class: | Pteridopsida |
| Order: | Cyatheales |
| Family: | Cyatheaceae |
| Genus: | Cyathea |
| Subgenus: | Cyathea |
| Section: | Alsophila |
| Species: | C. javanica |
| Binomial name | |
| Cyathea javanica Blume, 1828 | |
| Varieties | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Cyathea javanica is a species of tree fern native to western Java and Sumatra, in Indonesia.
It grows in rain forest and on riverbanks at an altitude of 250-1500 m.
Description
The trunk of Cyathea javanica is erect and up to about 10 m tall. Fronds may be bi- or tripinnate and 2-3 m in length. The stipe is spiny and bears scattered scales throughout. These scales are dark and have fragile edges. C. javanica has round sori which are borne near the midvein of fertile pinnules . They are protected by firm, flat indusia that are saucer-like in appearance.
Taxonomy
Cyathea javanica appears to be most closely related to Cyathea doctersii. Large and Braggins (2004) note that C. doctersii may in fact be of hybrid origin between C. javanica and a member of the Cyathea latebrosa complex.
When Carl Blume described C. javanica he also named one variety, C. j. var. rigida. Braggins and Large (2004) note that "although variety rigida is apparently part of the C. javanica complex, the name has also occasionally been associated with Cyathea polycarpa".
References
- Braggins, John E. & Large, Mark F. 2004. Tree Ferns. Timber Press, Inc., p. 149. ISBN 0-88192-630-2
- The International Plant Names Index: Cyathea javanica