''Alsophila cunninghamii'',

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 all ...

''Cyathea cunninghamii'', also known as the gully tree fern and slender tree fern, is a species of tree fern indigenous to New Zealand including

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 ...

(type locality),

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

and Chatham Islands; also to Victoria, possibly New South Wales, southeastern Queensland and Tasmania in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It grows in damp forest, often emerging from stream gullies and riverbanks. Brownsey noted that it has a lower tolerance for drought than other related species. The erect trunk may be 20 m tall and is usually 6–15 cm in diameter, occasionally as much as 20 cm. Fronds are

tri- Numeral or number prefixes are prefixes derived from numerals or occasionally other numbers. In English and many other languages, they are used to coin numerous series of words. For example: * unicycle, bicycle, tricycle (1-cycle, 2-cycle, 3-cyc ...

to tetrapinnate and 3 m or more in length. The rachis and stipe are slender, black brown, warty and 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 along each side of the pinnule midvein and are covered by hood-like indusia. ''A. cunninghamii'' is an uncommon and slow-growing tree fern. Plants from New Caledonia known as ''

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

'' may represent the same species. In the wild, ''A. cunninghamii'' hybridises with ''

Alsophila australis ''Alsophila australis'', synonym ''Cyathea australis'', also known as the rough tree fern, is a species of tree fern native to southeastern Queensland, New South Wales and southern Victoria in Australia, as well as Tasmania and Norfolk Island. I ...

'' to form the fertile hybrid ''Alsophila'' × ''marcescens''. To do well in cultivation, ''A. cunninghamii'' requires moisture. 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 ...

is a good growing medium. Plants should be protected from the wind. 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 ...

''cunninghamii'' commemorates Allan Cunningham (1791-1839), a botanist who traveled widely in Australia and New Zealand.

References

External links

Cyathea cunninghamii

Cyathea cunninghamii Hook.f.

Cyathea cunninghamii
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q17184922, from2=Q5197546 cunninghamii Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of Tasmania Flora of Victoria (Australia) Flora of New Zealand Flora of the Chatham Islands Ferns of New Zealand Ferns of Australia Rare flora of Australia Plants described in 1854