Abstract
The scaly tree fern Alsophila weidenbrueckii is described and illustrated as new to science. It occurs in the Bismarck range in north-eastern New Guinea at 1200–2100 m in evergreen wet mountain forest. The species reaches maturity at a comparatively old age and large size and regenerates only in intact forests on mineral soil exposed by small landslides or tree falls.
Highlights
Cyatheaceae or scaly tree ferns comprise c. 600 spp. distributed in the tropics, subtropics and southern temperate regions (Smith et al 2006)
For a long time two conflicting generic systems existed for the family
Holttum (1963) recognized only one universal genus Cyathea with subgenera and sections based on his studies focused on Paleotropical species (Holttum 1957, Holttum & Sen 1961), whereas Tryon (1970, 1976) recognized six genera from his insights gained mainly from Neotropical taxa
Summary
Cyatheaceae or scaly tree ferns comprise c. 600 spp. distributed in the tropics, subtropics and southern temperate regions (Smith et al 2006). Species of the Gymnosphaera clade have no commonly shared character that sets them apart from the rest of the scaly tree ferns.
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