Gymnosphaera acrostichoides

Gymnosphaera acrostichoides is a species of tree fern found in forests of eastern Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

Gymnosphaera acrostichoides
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Division:	Polypodiophyta
Class:	Polypodiopsida
Order:	Cyatheales
Family:	Cyatheaceae
Genus:	Gymnosphaera
Species:	G. acrostichoides
Binomial name
Gymnosphaera acrostichoides (Alderw.) S.Y.Dong[2]
Synonyms[2]
Alsophila acrostichoides Alderw. Cyathea acrostichoides (Alderw.) Domin

Description

The trunk is erect and usually 1 to 3 metres (3.3 to 9.8 ft) tall. Fronds are bipinnate and 1 to 2 metres (3.3 to 6.6 ft) long. The stipe is slender and covered with spines. It is sparsely covered with medium brown scales. Sori cover most of the underside of fertile pinnules. G. acrostichoides lacks indusia.^[3]

Distribution and habitat

Gymnosphaera acrostichoides is native to the Maluku Islands and New Guinea, where it grows in forest and disturbed sites at an elevation of 60 to 1,830 metres (200 to 6,000 ft).^[1]