Cyathea elmeri

Cyathea elmeri
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Pteridophyta
Class:	Pteridopsida
Order:	Cyatheales
Family:	Cyatheaceae
Genus:	Cyathea
Subgenus:	Sphaeropteris
Section:	Sphaeropteris
Species:	C. elmeri
Binomial name
Cyathea elmeri (Copeland) Copeland, 1909
Synonyms
Alsophila elmeri Copeland, 1908 Sphaeropteris elmeri (Copeland) Tryon, 1970 Alsophila comosa C. Christensen, 1897 (non Alsophila comosa Wallich, 1829; quae Cyathea squamulata, non Alsophila comosa Scott, 1874; quae Cyathea khasyana) Alsophila christii Alderwerelt van Rosenburgh, 1909 (non Alsophila christii (Sodiro, 1893) Sodiro, 1908; quae Cyathea decora) Cyathea dimorphotricha Copeland in Elmer, 1913 Alsophila subcomosa C. Christensen, 1913 Cyathea subcomosa (C. Christensen) Domin, 1929 (republ. 1930) Alsophila fenicis Posthumus, 1942 (non Alsophila fenicis (Copeland) C. Christensen, 1913; quae Cyathea fenicis)

Cyathea elmeri is a species of tree fern native to the Philippines, Talaud Islands, and northern Sulawesi, where it grows in forest at an altitude of 500-1400 m. The trunk of this plant is erect and 5-10 m tall. Fronds may be bi- or tripinnate and up to 2 m or more in length. The lower surface of the rachis is distinctively pale and warty. The stipe is covered with scales and has warts towards the base. The scales are large, tapering, thin, and medium brown in colouration. Sori are borne near the fertile pinnule midvein. Indusia are absent.

The specific epithet elmeri commemorates pteridologist Adolph Daniel Edward Elmer (1870-1942).

References

• Braggins, John E. & Large, Mark F. 2004. Tree Ferns. Timber Press, Inc., p. 128. ISBN 0-88192-630-2
• The International Plant Names Index: Cyathea elmeri