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Alsophila engelii is a tree fern of montane cloud forests in northern South America, growing up to about 11 m tall with fronds 2 to 3 m long. It is mainly of interest to collectors and botanic gardens rather than home gardeners.
Alsophila engelii, synonym Cyathea elongata, is a species of tree fern native to Venezuela and Colombia, where it grows in montane areas at an altitude of 2000–3000 m. The trunk is erect and up to 11 m tall. Fronds are pinnate and usually 2–3 m long. The rachis and stipe are brown, may be smooth to warty and have basal tan scales. Sori occur in small groups towards the base of the pinnule midvein and are covered by cup-like indusia.
The species was described in 1869, as Cyathea elongata, with the name attributed to Georg Mettenius by Gustav Karsten. It could not be transferred to the genus Alsophila with the epithet elongata because Alsophila elongata Hook. (a synonym of Cyathea poeppigii) already existed. Rolla Tryon proposed the replacement name Alsophila engelii. The name commemorates Franz Engel, who collected the type material in Venezuela.
Alsophila abbottii · Alsophila acanthophora · Alsophila acuminata · Alsophila alderwereltii · Alsophila alleniae · Alsophila alpina · Alsophila amboinensis · Alsophila aneitensis · Alsophila apiculata · Alsophila apoensis · Rough tree fern · Alsophila balanocarpa
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Alsophila engelii by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
