''Alsophila junghuhniana'',

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly 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 al ...

''Cyathea junghuhniana'', is a species of

tree fern The tree ferns are arborescent (tree-like) ferns that grow with a 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 (scaly tre ...

native to southern and central Sumatra and western

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mo ...

, where it grows in forest at an altitude of 1000–2000 m. The trunk of this species is erect and may be 2 m tall or more.

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 and up to about 3 m long. The stipes of this species are persistent and form a skirt around the trunk. They are brown, spiny, and covered with glossy, dark brown

scales 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 ...

. Sori are borne near the midvein of fertile

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 ...

s and are protected by thin indusia. Large and Braggins (2004) note that ''A. junghuhniana'' has been confused with ''

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

'' (syn. ''Cyathea raciborskii''), "from which it differs in several characteristics, including larger pinnae". Stipe outgrowths are present in ''A. crenulata'', but absent from ''A. junghuhniana''. 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 ...

''junghuhniana'' commemorates

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

botanist

Friedrich Franz Wilhelm Junghuhn Friedrich Franz Wilhelm Junghuhn was a German botanist and geologist. His father, Friedrich Junghuhn was a barber and a surgeon. His mother was Christine Marie Schiele. Junghuhn studied medicine in Halle and in Berlin from 1827 to 1831, meanwhile ...

(1809-1864), who collected numerous plants on Java and Sumatra.

References

junghuhniana Flora of Sumatra Flora of Java {{alsophila-plant-stub