''Alsophila leichhardtiana'',

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 leichhardtiana'', the prickly tree fern, is a plant in the tree fern family,

Cyatheaceae The Cyatheaceae are a family of ferns, the scaly tree ferns, one of eight families in the order Cyatheales in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). Alternatively, the family may defined much more broadly (Cyatheaceae '' ...

, found in eastern Australia ( Victoria,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

). It is a common species found in moist situations, in and near

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

s. It was named in honour of the explorer and botanical collector

Ludwig Leichhardt Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt (), known as Ludwig Leichhardt, (23 October 1813 – c. 1848) was a German explorer and naturalist, most famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia.Ken Eastwood,'Cold case: Leichhardt's dis ...

. Seen between one and seven metres tall, it may be identified by the thin, prickly trunk, 5 to 15 cm wide. The sori lack true

indusia A sorus (pl. sori) is a cluster of sporangia (structures producing and containing spores) in ferns and fungi. A coenosorus (plural coenosori) is a compound sorus composed of multiple, fused sori. Etymology This New Latin word is from Ancient Gr ...

, the base of the sorus bears a ring of scales. Fronds are up to 3 metres long, and the stipe is around 20 cm in length.

Taxonomy

It was first described in 1865 by

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vict ...

as ''Alsophila leichhardtiana'' from several specimens, one of which was collected by

in Moreton Bay, and another by

Louisa Atkinson Caroline Louisa Waring Calvert (; 25 February 1834 – 28 April 1872) was an early Australian writer, botanist and illustrator. While she was well known for her fiction during her lifetime, her long-term significance rests on her botanical work ...

in the Blue Mountains. It was named and described many times. In 1912,

Edwin Copeland Edwin Bingham Copeland (September 30, 1873 – March 16, 1964) was an American botanist and agriculturist. He is known for founding the University of the Philippines College of Agriculture at Los Baños, Laguna and for being one of the America's ...

transferred the species to '' Cyathea'' as ''Cyathea leichhardtiana''. It has since been restored to '' Alsophila''.

References

External links

''Cyathea leichhardtiana'': Occurrence data from The Australasian Virtual Herbarium

''Cyathea leichhardtiana'': Images from Flickr
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q17185160, from2=Q5197615 leichhardtiana Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of Victoria (Australia) Plants described in 1865 Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller