''Alsophila jimeneziana'',

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 crassa'', 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 tree ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found elsew ...

to the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

. Little is known about this rare tree fern. ''A. jimeneziana'' is part of the ''

Alsophila woodwardioides ''Alsophila woodwardioides'' is a species of tree fern native to Jamaica, Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Ju ...

'' complex from the

Greater Antilles The Greater Antilles ( es, Grandes Antillas or Antillas Mayores; french: Grandes Antilles; ht, Gwo Zantiy; jam, Grieta hAntiliiz) is a grouping of the larger islands in the Caribbean Sea, including Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and ...

, together with five other species: '' Alsophila fulgens'', ''

Alsophila grevilleana ''Alsophila grevilleana'', synonym ''Cyathea grevilleana'', is a species of tree fern endemic to Jamaica, where it grows in moist gullies and on wooded hills in both calcareous and noncalcareous soils at an altitude of 200–1200 m. The trunk of ...

'', ''

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

'', and ''

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

'' (all also placed in ''

Cyathea ''Cyathea'' is a genus of tree ferns, the type genus of the fern order Cyatheales. The genus name ''Cyathea'' is derived from the Greek ''kyatheion'', meaning "little cup", and refers to the cup-shaped sori on the underside of the fronds. Des ...

''). This species is not conspecific with ''Alsophila crassa''

Karsten Karsten or Carsten is a both a given name and a surname. It is believed to be either derived from a Low German form of Christian, or "man from karst". Notable persons with the name include: Given name ;Carsten: * Carsten Charles Sabathia (born 1 ...

, which is based on material collected from wet, cold, montane forest at Mérida by

Franz Engel Franz Engel (1834 in Röbel – 1920 in Neubrandenburg) was a German explorer and naturalist. He traveled extensively in South America in the years 1857–63 and published the results of his explorations in several volumes, including ''Studien ...

in 1859. The ''Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World'' considers it to be a synonym of '' Cyathea clandestina''. Because 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 ...

''crassa'' is unavailable for this tree fern if placed in the genus '' Alsophila'', having already been used by Karsten, David Conant published the

replacement name In biological nomenclature, a ''nomen novum'' (Latin for "new name"), new replacement name (or replacement name, new substitute name, substitute name) is a scientific name that is created specifically to replace another scientific name, but only w ...

''Alsophila jimeneziana'' in 1983.

References

jimeneziana Flora of the Dominican Republic Plants described in 1909 Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{alsophila-plant-stub