''Alsophila dregei'',

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

''Cyathea dregei'', (common tree fern or ''gewone boomvaring'' in

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

) is a widespread species of

tree fern Tree ferns are arborescent (tree-like) ferns that grow with a trunk (botany), trunk elevating the fronds above ground level, making them trees. Many extant tree ferns are members of the order Cyatheales, to which belong the families Cyatheaceae ( ...

southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...

. Within

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, it co-occurs with the indigenous forest tree fern (''Gymnosphaera capensis'') and the invasive ''

Sphaeropteris cooperi ''Sphaeropteris cooperi'', synonym ''Cyathea cooperi'', also known as lacy tree fern, scaly tree fern, or Cooper's tree fern, is a tree fern native to Australia, in New South Wales and Queensland. Description ''Sphaeropteris cooperi'' is a me ...

'' from

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Further north, outside of South Africa, it coexists with an additional two tree fern species, '' A. manniana'' and '' A. thomsonii''. This species is locally known as the common South African tree fern or grassland tree fern (in contrast to its relative, the forest tree fern). It is commonly known as the ''gewone boomvaring'' in

Description

Key characteristics

''Alsophila dregei'' has an erect, stout trunk and is up to tall and 20–45 cm in diameter. It is a variable species, usually having a thick trunk and dense crown. It is occasionally branched.

Frond A frond is 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. Other botanists allow the term frond to also apply to the lar ...

s are

tripinnate Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and in ...

(rarely

bipinnate The following terms are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade is divided into two or more leaflets ...

) and may reach 3 m in length. They are characteristically large and arching, with the lowest

pinnae Pinna may refer to: Biology * Pinna (anatomy), or auricle, the outer part of the ear * ''Pinna'' (bivalve), a genus of molluscs * Pinna (botany), a primary segment of a compound leaf People Surname * Christophe Pinna (born 1968), French marti ...

usually reduced. The upper surface of fronds is glabrate, while the lower surface may be tomentose. The

rachis In biology, a rachis (from the [], "backbone, spine") is a main axis or "shaft". In zoology and microbiology In vertebrates, ''rachis'' can refer to the series of articulated vertebrae, which encase the spinal cord. In this case the ''rachi ...

and stipe are brown in colouration and have a rough surface. The stipe is covered in brown scales. Up to twelve sori occur per group per

pinnule A leaflet (occasionally called foliole) in botany is a leaf-like part of a compound leaf. Though it resembles an entire leaf, a leaflet is not borne on a main plant stem or branch, as a leaf is, but rather on a petiole or a branch of the leaf. C ...

Comparison to other tree ferns

It can be distinguished from the forest tree fern (''Gymnosphaera capensis'') by its thick trunk, and by its smallest (third level) leaflets. The leaflets of ''A. dregei'' have smooth (entire) margins, while those of ''G. capensis'' are serrated. Each leaflet of ''A. dregei'' has multiple seedcases on its underside, while a leaflet of ''G. capensis'' has only one per leaflet. The

frond A frond is 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. Other botanists allow the term frond to also apply to the lar ...

s of ''A. capensis'' come off lower, and it usually has several small, residual leaf remnants, which sprout in tufts among its fronds at the top of its stem. The only other indigenous tree ferns of the southern African region, ''

Alsophila manniana ''Alsophila manniana'', Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Cyathea manniana'', the spiny tree fern or sheshino, is a species of Cyatheales, tree fern. It is readily identified by the fierce spines on its trunk, and is widespread in the tropical region ...

'' and '' A. thomsonii'', are both native to

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

. They can be distinguished from ''A. dregei'' by stem, stalk and frond appearance. ''A. manniana'' has sharp spikes on a slender trunk and frond stems. ''A. thomsonii'' has light-coloured, twisted hairs under its leaflets. The invasive ''Sphaeropteris cooperi'' can be distinguished from ''A. dregei'' by the hairy white and brown scales on the new unfurling leaf stipes and sometimes by faint serrations on the leaflets.

Taxonomy

The specific

epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...

''dregei'' commemorates

Johann Franz Drège Johann Fran(t)z Drège (or Jean François Drège) (25 March 1794 Altona, Hamburg, Altona, Duchy of Holstein – 3 February 1881 Altona, Hamburg, Germany), commonly referred to by his standard botanical author abbreviation Drège, was a German horti ...

(1794–1881), a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

plant collector and explorer who worked extensively in South Africa and who is referred to as Drège when citing botanical names.

Distribution and habitat

It is distributed widely in sub-Saharan Africa, including Guinea, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon in west and west-central Africa, and in eastern and southern Africa from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda to South Africa. It is also native to

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

. In West Africa it grows in mountain and plateau grasslands and woodlands from elevation.''Alsophila dregei'' (Kunze) R.M.Tryon
''

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

''. Retrieved 19 October 2023. ''Alsophila dregei'' grows on stream banks, in forest margins and in grasslands. It often grows in the open, in full, direct sunlight, provided there is sufficient moisture. Plants are most common at elevations of . In the wild, it is known to be fire resistant.

Cultivation

''Alsophila dregei'' is rarely common in cultivation as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

, especially in South Africa and

. Plants should be sheltered and grown in 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 ...

, with a constant supply of moisture. This species can survive light frosts with little damage.

Gallery

File:Cyathea dregei - Common Tree Fern - Cape Town.jpg, Habitat File:Cyathea dregei, frond-bosy, Iphithi NR.jpg,

Tripinnate Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and in ...

frond File:Tree fern 2.jpg, Mature trunk File:Cyathea dregei - Botanischer Garten München-Nymphenburg - DSC08026.JPG, New fronds

References

Cold-hardy tree ferns: ''Cyathea dregei''

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from1=Q65929242, from2=Q5197558 dregei Ferns of Africa Flora of Angola Flora of Burundi Flora of Cameroon Flora of Madagascar Flora of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Flora of Ghana Flora of Guinea Flora of Lesotho Flora of Malawi Flora of Mozambique Flora of Rwanda Flora of Sierra Leone Trees of South Africa Flora of Swaziland Flora of Tanzania Flora of Uganda Flora of Zambia Flora of Zimbabwe Garden plants of Africa Ornamental trees Taxa named by Gustav Kunze