Biology:Cyathea glauca
| Cyathea glauca | |
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| Cyathea glauca growing near the village of la Plaine des Palmistes, Réunion. | |
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| Species: | C. glauca
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| Binomial name | |
| Cyathea glauca Bory, 1804
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Cyathea glauca is a species of tree fern endemic to Réunion. Little is known about this species. C. glauca is not to be confused with Cyathea glauca (Fourn., 1872) used as a synonym of Cyathea mexicana.
C. glauca grows at higher altitudes (1300-2000m) and it is one of three species of tree fern that are indigenous to Réunion island.
- Cyathea excelsa, which also occurs in Mauritius, grows at slightly lower altitudes (200-1700m). Like C. glauca, its leaves are tripinnate, but the new fronds of Cyathea excelsa are scaleless; those of C. glauca have red-brown scales.
- Cyathea borbonica var. borbonica is the only species with bipinnate fronds.[1][2]
The fronds of Cyathea glauca are tripinnate (branching to three levels).
Cyathea glauca growing under Acacia heterophylla in the forest of Bélouve, Réunion.
Detail of trunk and insertion of fronds. New growth is covered in red-brown scales. This serves to distinguish the species from the alien, non-indigenous Cyathea cooperi, which has red and white scales on its new growth.
The alien Cyathea cooperi can be distinguished from C.glauca by the red and white scales on its new fronds.
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References
- ↑ M. Glaubrecht (2010): Evolution in Action: Case studies in Adaptive Radiation, Speciation and the Origin of Biodiversity. Springer Science & Business Media. Science. p.13.
- ↑ A revision of the fern family Cyatheaceae in the Mascarene Islands (2006)
External links
Wikidata ☰ Q3008072 entry
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