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Cyathea lepifera
Sphaeropteris lepifera (synonym Cyathea lepifera), the brush pot tree, is an endangered tree fern of East and Southeast Asian mountains and rainforests that can reach about 6 m tall. It needs humid, shaded, frost-free conditions to thrive.
Sphaeropteris lepifera, synonym Cyathea lepifera, the brush pot tree (Chinese: 筆筒樹; pinyin: bǐtǒng shù; Japanese: ヒカゲヘゴ), or flying spider monkey tree fern is an endangered tree fern that grows in the mountains of East and Southeast Asia. This species can grow up to 20 feet (6.1 m) tall and 20 centimeters in diameter at the base. While the tree fern lineage dates back to the Jurassic, the crown group Sphaeropteris can be traced back to the Cretaceous, around 90 million years ago.
This species can be found inhabiting moist subtropical and tropical rainforests in Japan (Ryukyu Islands), China, Taiwan, the Philippines and New Guinea. In China, the species can be found in coastal areas from Fujian to Guangxi along the South to Yunnan Province. Sphaeropteris lepifera can also be found on Hainan, along with an in-situ population being found in Nan'ao Island in Guangdong Province.
Sphaeropteris lepifera is valued in China medicinally. In the Philippines, tree ferns are boiled, with the mixture containing boiling young fronds believed to help mothers reduce duration of labor and improve postpartum recovery.
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 Sphaeropteris lepifera 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.
