Exit Glossary of Terms Cyathea A New Zealand

Exit Glossary of Terms Cyathea A New Zealand Tree Fern

Exit Glossary of Terms Biodiversity and Radiation of a New Zealand Tree Fern (Cyathea): -Species phylogeny for Cyathea? -Pattern and timing of species diversification? -Impact of habitat in driving morphological and ecological diversity of Cyathea in New Zealand? -Differences in species radiation of Cyathea in New Zealand (an Island archipelago) and respective South Pacific Island habitats and evolutionary importance of habitat on biodiversity & radiation? Land Environments of New Zealand (LENZ) ALLAN WILSON CENTRE for Molecular Ecology and Evolution RSNZ: Home -Develop learning modules to develop and strengthen problem solving skills of New Zealand students, relevant and interesting to students, written from a New Zealand context & perspective.

Exit Glossary of Terms Cyatheaceae - A family of 500 -600 species of tree ferns. - Wet, montane tropical forests around the world. - Unusual: High Species Diversity, yet near uniform chromosome number, n=69. - Fertile diploid hybrids. - At least THREE different systems of classification: 1. Tyron and Tyron(1982), 2. Holttum and Edwards(1983) 3. Lellinger*(1987). *Supported by Brownsey(2000). [Contant(1994)

Exit Glossary of Terms Cyatheaceae Classification Note: Taxonomically, New Zealand species are reasonably easy to identify, Tryon and Tryon (1982) Alsophila Nephelea Holttum and Edwards (1983) Cyathea Lellinger (1987) Alsophila subgenus Cyathea section Alsophila Cnemidaria sub sect. Alsophila Cnemidaria Cyathea sub sect. Nephelea Cyathea Trichipteris section Cyathea Sphaeropteris subgenus Sclephropteris Data from a study of cp. DNA completed by Conant(1994) shows strong support for 3 evolutionary lineages: Alsophila clade, Cyathea clade and Sphaeropteris clade, Alsophila being most basal and Cyathea and Sphaeropteris are derived sister groups. cp. DNA Data are most consistent with Lellinger’s classification.

Exit Glossary of Terms Classification Sori and indusial characteristics Habitat (shows geographical distribution of A. colensoi) Stipe Frond Forms

Exit Glossary of Terms Various Cyatheaceae Distributions c. colensoi c. smithii c. cunginghamii c. medullaris c. dealbata

Exit Glossary of Terms Fern Life Cycle Mature Tree Ferns Sori on under-side of Cyathea medullaris Young Sporophyte emerging from gametophyte The young gametophyte is a rarely seen plant (1 -2 mm) that is a completely independent plant in the life cycle. Gametophyte

Exit Glossary of Terms Fern Morphology (Anatomy) The Tree-Fern fiddlehead gives rise to a new Frond (leaf). ‘ The young fiddlehead and it’s stalk (stipe) are often covered with hair and/or scales. Each spore-case under the leaf(pinna) is called a sorus. Each sorus contains many sporangia. Each sporangium produce a varying number of spores. The spore-cases look different for various species of Fern, and can be used to identify them. This spore-case may be covered by a flap, called an indusium.

Exit Glossary of Terms Classifying Ferns (A Dichotomous Tree) To use this Key to identify Ferns, Start at the BOTTOM of the Key and follow the arrows. Go to Page (10) Does it have fronds that are divided once? Go to Page (10) Go to Page (13) Go to Page (10) Does it have fronds that are divided more than once (NOT a tree-fern)? Does it Have simple, single/unlobed fronds (leaves)? Does it look like a tree ? START HERE Does it have see-through fronds? Go to Page (10)

Exit Glossary of Terms Morphological Classification Key Start at the BOTTOM Dicksonia squarrosa -Slender trunk with black pegs of remaining dead fronds. (Sometimes branches) -Very thick and soft brown trunk. Are the Frond (leaf) stalks black? YES Are the Fronds in the “Skirt” whole? Cyathea dealbata -Underside of leaves silver/white. NO YES Does it have a “Prickly” Trunk? Is the “Skirt” Tidy? NO Cyathea medullaris -Scars on trunk oval or hexagonal in shape. Dicksonia fibrosa NO Does it have a “Skirt” of dead fronds in this area? Start HERE YES NO YES -Very soft and pale fronds, horizontal like parasol. Cyathea medullaris NO Is it a Tree Fern? To complete a Phylogenetic Analysis of Nucleotide Sequences, go to: The Phylogenetic Tree Constructor - Skirt made of frond stalks only. NO Go Back to Page 5 YES Cyathea smithii (Young) -Very uneven skirt of black frond stalks. -Thick frond stalks.

Exit Glossary of Terms Cyathea Dicksonia vs. Cyathea dealbata. . . . . vs. Dicksonia sqarrosa Height: Up to 10 m Height: Up to 7 m Fronds: Up to 4 m Fronds: Up to 3 m Distinguishing characters: -White peg-like frond bases on trunk -Black peg-like frond bases on trunk -White stalks (stipe) and under fronds. -Black stalks, may have branches. Location: North Island, East of South Island North Island South Island, common in most Forest Dry Forest or open scrub Cyathea smithii…. . . . . vs. Dicksonia fibrosa. Height: Up to 8 m Height: Up to 6 m Fronds: Up to 2. 5 m Fronds: Up to 3 m (HARSH) Distinguishing characters: -Fronds are soft, pale, horizontal. -Trunk is thick, soft and brown. -Short skirt of dried stalks (not Frond) -Skirt of entire dead fronds. Location: More common in South Island at high altitudes as they like it cold and wet. North Island South Island Forrest, semi-open scrub

Exit Glossary of Terms Cyathea medullaris (Young) the others Cyathea medullaris (Mature) Height: Up to 20 m Fronds: Up to 5 m Distinguishing characters: -Young ferns will often have untidy skirt of a few dead fronds. -Thick Black stalks, Oval/Hexagonal scars left where fronds are lost. Location: North Island South Island, common in most damp valley forests. Cyathea colensoi Cyathea cunninghamii (Similar to C. medullaris) Height: Up to 1 m (a creeping Fern, may have horizontal fronds along ground) Fronds: Up to 1. 5 m Distinguishing characters: -Very slender, pale brown stalks Location: North and South Island in mountain forests. Favours damp areas/treeline. Height: Up to 20 m ? Fronds: Up to 3 m Distinguishing characters: -Fronds are soft, pale, horizontal. -Ragged skirt on young plants, rough stalks/dark brown and appressed. Location: Wet coasts (North and West).

Exit Glossary of Terms Dichotomous To branch into two. A dichotomous keys asks a question about a plant, and there are two possible answers. Endemic A plant is endemic if it exists only in one geographical region/island. The silver fern (Cyathea dealbata) grows in New Zealand is not found anywhere else in the world, and is therefore, endemic to New Zealand. Fronds The leaves of a Fern. Gametophyte A VERY tiny, green, heart shaped plant that is produced from Fern spores in the Fern Life Cycle. The gametophyte produces egg and sperm which ‘merge’, and a new sporophyte (Fern plant) grows. Indusium (indusia, pl) In some Ferns, it protects sporangia by covering them. The indusium looks different on various Fern species. Morphology Physical Characteristics of a plant. What a plant looks like, and it’s form (including the internal structure). Phloem Tube in a vascular plant that carries nutrients. Rhizome The trunk of the Tree-Fern. (Found along the ground in the Creeping Tree-Fern) Species An individual group of plants that has been ‘produced’ from parents of the same species. If all the plants in a species die, it cannot be reproduced by any means, and is therefore extinct. Sorus (Sori, pl) A group of sporangia found under the leaves of a fern, sometimes covered by an indusium. Sporangium (sporangia, pl) The part of a Fern plant under the leaves that produce and hold spores before they are released. Spore Fern ‘seeds’. Spores are produced under the leaves (pinnae) and dropped when they are mature. If they land in a favorable location, they become a gametophyte (see Fern Life Cycle), which produces egg and sperm. Sporophyte The Fern Plant we see. In a Fern Life Cycle it produces the spores. Stipe The ‘stalk’ of a Fern that connects the trunk (rhizome) to the leaf(frond). See Fern Morphology (Anatomy) Vascular plant Any plant that makes use of tubes to transport water, nutrients or other materials through the plant. Xylem Tube in a vascular plant that carries water.

Exit • Glossary of Terms Exit Thank you for using New Zealand Ferns, and I would like to thank: 1. Royal Society of New Zealand. 2. Allan Wilson Centre, Massey University. 3. Associate Professor Peter Lockhart, Recourses: “New Zealand Ferns and Allied Plants”, Patrick J. Brownsey and John C. Smith Dodsworth, David Bateman, pp 83 -89. “Native Trees of New Zealand 2”, J. T. Salmon, Reed Publishing NZ Ltd. , 2003. “Which Native Tree", Andrew Crowe, Penguin Books NZ Ltd. , 2001. “New Zealand Trees – Ferns”, Alina Arkins, Reed Publishing NZ Ltd. , 2003. Click to Exit or click <A New Zealand Tree Fern> to return to beginning.