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Tree Fern
Cyathea spinulosa
ใใด
A tree fern native to forests of southern Kyushu and Okinawa. Its erect trunk-like stem reaches 3โ5 m tall, with large pinnate fronds spreading from the crown. It has a tropical atmosphere and is also found in parks and botanical gardens.
Identification Points
- โTree fern with an erect stem reaching several meters tall
- โStem surface covered with fish-scale-like leaf-base remnants
- โLarge bi- to tripinnately compound fronds spreading from the crown
Habitat
Evergreen forests of the Nansei Islands and southern Kyushu
Season
Year-round (evergreen)
Morphological TraitsAI-estimated, needs verification
Evergreen/Deciduous
Evergreen
Leaf type
Compound
Phylogenetic Positionใใด็ง โ
Phylogenetic Position
Vascular plants > Polypodiophyta > Polypodiopsida > Cyatheales > Cyatheaceae
Divergence Era
Jurassic to Cretaceous (ca. 150 million years agoโ)
Evolution Notes
Cyatheaceae (tree ferns) occupy the understory niche in present-day tropical rainforests. Their trunk-like erect stems are composed of adventitious roots and leaf-base remnantsโa product of convergent evolution distinct from true wood tissue.
View on evolution timeline โSources & References
AI-generated, needs verification