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Alsophila manniana
Also called Spiny Tree Fern
Sheshino (Alsophila manniana) is a spiny tree fern native to shaded, wet evergreen forest by mountain streams across tropical Africa, growing a slender trunk up to about 7 m tall. It needs deep shade, humidity and consistently moist conditions to thrive.
Alsophila manniana, synonym Cyathea manniana, the spiny tree fern or sheshino, is a species of tree fern. It is readily identified by the fierce spines on its trunk, and is widespread in the tropical regions of Africa.
This species is found in deep shade, next to mountain streams in evergreen forest in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is indigenous to Angola, Annobón, 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, and Zimbabwe.
An infusion of the pith and young leaves is used in traditional medicine for a variety of abdominal and gastric complaints, to ease childbirth and against tapeworms.
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 manniana 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.
