''Alsophila colensoi'', also known as the creeping tree fern, mountain tree fern and golden tree fern, is a species of
tree fern native to
New Zealand, from the southern part of the
North Island
The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...
south to
Stewart Island
Stewart Island ( mi, Rakiura, ' glowing skies', officially Stewart Island / Rakiura) is New Zealand's third-largest island, located south of the South Island, across the Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island with a total land ar ...
. It grows in submontane to montane forest in damp areas, particularly near the
tree line. The trunk is usually prostrate, but may sometimes be erect. It may reach about 1 m in height.
Fronds are
tripinnate and about 1.5 m long or more. The
rachis and
stipe are slender, pale brown and are covered with brown
scale
Scale or scales may refer to:
Mathematics
* Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points
* Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original
* Scale factor, a number ...
s.
Sori occur in two rows, one along each side of the fertile
pinnule midvein, and lack
indusia. Plants form a thicket with no sign of a trunk.
[
In cultivation, this species requires rich ]humus
In classical soil science, humus is the dark organic matter in soil that is formed by the decomposition of plant and animal matter. It is a kind of soil organic matter. It is rich in nutrients and retains moisture in the soil. Humus is the Lati ...
, good shade and much moisture. Being a montane plant, it does well in cooler regions.[
The specific ]epithet
An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...
''colensoi'' commemorates William Colenso (1811-1899), a missionary and New Zealand botanist.[
]
References
colensoi
Flora of New Zealand
Plants described in 1854
Taxa named by Joseph Dalton Hooker
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