Cyatheaceae
Read about Cyatheaceae in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
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Cyatheaceae (from the genus Cyathea, signifying cup + contain, in reference to the cup-shaped indusium). Cyathea Family. Fig. 2. Usually tree ferns with large, much-compounded, circinate leaves: sori globular, borne on the under side of the leaf: veins forking: indusium usually present, bi-valvular, cupular or unilateral: sporangia thin-walled, sessile or short-pedicelled, obovoid; annulus complete at the pedicel, oblique, dehiscence transverse: prothallium ordinary, green. This family has 7 genera and about 300 species, of which 115 belong to Cyathea, 112 to Alsophila, and 44 to Hemitelia. They are distributed in the tropics of both hemispheres. The Cyatheaceae is closely related to the Polypodiaceae from which it differs only in the slightly oblique annulus which passes just at one side of the insertion of the pedicel, and is therefore uninterrupted at that point. The dense, woolly covering of the stem of many species is sometimes collected for stuffing pillows. The starchy pith of some New Zealand Cyatheaceae was formerly used for food. In India, an intoxicating drink is prepared from the pith. Several species are important greenhouse ferns. Five genera at least are listed in the American trade: Alsophila, Cibotium (Scythian Lamb), Cyathea, Dicksonia, Hemitelia. CH
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References
- Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
External links
- w:Cyatheaceae. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
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