''Alsophila glaucifolia'',

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 glauca'', is a 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 ( ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

. Little is known about this species.

Habitat and related species

''A. glaucifolia'' grows at higher altitudes (), and it is one of three species of

that are indigenous to

island. * ''

Alsophila celsa Alsophila may refer to: * ''Alsophila'' (moth), a genus of moth * ''Alsophila'' (plant), a genus of tree ferns {{Taxonomy disambiguation ...

'' (syn. ''Cyathea excelsa'') which also occurs in

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

, grows at slightly lower altitudes (200-1700m). Like ''A. glaucifolia'', its leaves 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 ...

, but the new fronds of ''A. celsa'' are scaleless; those of ''A. glaucifolia'' have red-brown scales. * ''

Alsophila borbonica ''Alsophila borbonica'', synonym ''Cyathea borbonica'', is a tree fern endemic to Mauritius and Réunion. There are several natural forms and varieties. Description It reaches a height of roughly 2 meters, with a dark, hairy, scaly trunk. Its s ...

'' (syn. ''Cyathea borbonica'') is the only species with

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 ...

fronds.A revision of the fern family ''Cyatheaceae'' in the Mascarene Islands (2006)
/ref> Image:Cyathea glauca fronds.jpg, The fronds are

(branching to three levels). Image:Cyathea glauca.JPG, Growing under ''

Acacia heterophylla ''Acacia heterophylla'', the highland tamarind,Forestry Abstracts, University of Oxford Commonwealth Forestry Bureau, p.327, 1939 is a tree (or shrub in its higher places) Endemism, endemic to Réunion, Réunion island where it is commonly named ...

'' in the forest of Bélouve,

Image:Image-Cyathea glauca insertion of fronds.JPG, Detail of trunk and insertion of fronds. New growth is covered in red-brown scales. This serves to distinguish the species from the alien, non-indigenous ''

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 ...

'' (syn. ''Cyathea cooperi''), which has red and white scales on its new growth. Image:Funchal, Monte - Cyathea cooperi (Australischer Baumfarn) IMG 1893.JPG, The alien ''

'' can be distinguished from ''A. glaucifolia'' by the red and white scales on its new fronds.

References

External links

glaucifolia Ferns of Asia Endemic flora of Réunion {{Alsophila-plant-stub