Cyathea manniana Hook.

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Photo: Bart Wursten
Bunga Forest, Vumba

Photo: Petra Ballings
SRGH

Photo: Bart Wursten
Above fern gully, Vumba

Photo: Petra Ballings
John Meikle Forestry Estate, Stapleford

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Synonyms:	Alsophila manniana (Hook.) R. M. Tryon Cyathea deckenii Kuhn Cyathea laurentiorum Christ Cyathea sellae Pirotta Cyathea usambarensis Hieron.
Common names:	Spiny tree fern (English)
Frequency:
Status:	Native
Description:	Tree fern. Caudex slender, 7 m × 10 cm, occasionally sending down lateral "prop" stems which are eventually creeping and may form a new upright caudex. Fronds firmly chartaceous. Stem covered with harsh spines; without aphlebia in the crown of the stem. Stipe spiny, 30 -50 cm long, light to dark brown, covered with glossy, brown, entire, lanceolate scales when young. Lamina up to 2.4 m × 1 m, 3-pinnatifid, ovate in outline. Pinnae up to 52 × 20 cm, oblong, acute, pinnate into narrowly shortly attenuate pinnate pinnules; ultimate segments narrowly oblong-falcate, apex acute to sharply obtuse, margins entire to minutely crenate; upper surface dark green, glabrous, with minute, brown hair-like scales along the costae, lower surface pale green, glabrous but with brown, ovate scales scattered along the costules and costae; rhachis shiny brown with scattered small prickles, glabrous at maturity. Sori up to 9 per pinnule segment, round, indusium unequally cup-shaped.
Notes:	Readily recognizable by the harshly spiny stem.
Derivation of specific name:	manniana: first collected by G. Mann, a German botanist
Habitat:	Along mountain streams in evergreen forest, deep shade
Altitude range:	920 - 2000 m
Flowering time:
Worldwide distribution:	Angola, Annobon, Bioko, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, DRC, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tomé, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimba
Mozambique distribution:	MS
Growth form:	T
Endemic status:
Red data list status:
Insects (whose larvae eat this species):
Spot characters:	Display spot characters for this species
Content last updated:	Sunday 1 August 2010
Literature:	Burrows, J.E. (1990). Southern African Ferns and Fern Allies. Frandsen, Sandton. Page 87. (Includes a picture). Coates Palgrave K. (revised and updated by Meg Coates Palgrave) (2002). Trees of Southern Africa 3rd edition. Struik, South Africa Page 73. (Includes a picture). Jacobsen, W.B.G. (1983). The Ferns and Fern Allies of Southern Africa. Butterworths, Durban and Pretoria. Pages 200 - 201. As Alophila manniana (Hook.) Tyron (Includes a picture). Kornas, J. (1979). Distribution and ecology of the Pteridophytes in Zambia Polska Akademia Nauk Wydzial II Nauk Biologicznych Page 81. Mapaura, A & Timberlake, J. (eds) (2004). A checklist of Zimbabwean vascular plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 33 Sabonet, Pretoria and Harare Page 6. Roux, J.P. (2001). Conspectus of Southern African Pteridophyta. Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report 13 Page 86. Roux, J.P. (2009). Synopsis of the Lycopodiophyta and Pteridophyta of Africa, Madagascar and neighbouring islands Pages 64 - 65. As Alsophila manniana (Hook.) R.M.Tyron Schelpe, E.A.C.L.E. (1970). Pteridophyta FZ Pages 72 - 74. (Includes a picture).

Other sources of information about Cyathea manniana:

Biodiversity Explorer (Biodiversity of southern Africa): Cyathea manniana
ePIC (electronic Plant Information Center): Cyathea manniana
Flora Zambesiaca web site: Cyathea manniana
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
GRIN (Germplasm Resources Information Network) taxonomy for plants report for Cyathea manniana
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Cyathea manniana
JSTOR Plant Science: Cyathea manniana
Kew Herbarium catalogue: Cyathea manniana
Tropicos: Cyathea manniana
West African Plants database: Cyathea manniana