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A slender tree fern from the Philippines, usually growing up to about 3 m tall in montane forest above 1000 m. It is a forest understorey plant of wet tropical highland conditions, so keep it cool, humid and shaded.
Gymnosphaera atropurpurea, synonyms Alsophila atropurpurea and Cyathea atropurpurea, is a species of tree fern native to the islands of Luzon, Mindanao, Leyte and Mindanao in the Philippines, where it grows in forest at above 1000 m. The erect trunk is slender and may be up to 3 m tall. Fronds are bipinnate and 1–2 m long. Characteristically of this species, the final pair of pinnae are usually reduced and occur towards the base of the stipe. These, along with the stipe bases, are persistent and retained around the trunk long after withering. The stipe itself is dark and covered with scales, which are either small, dull and brown or large, dark and glossy. Sori occur near the midvein of fertile pinnules and lack indusia. Fertile pinnules are notably smaller than sterile ones.
G. atropurpurea is very similar to Gymnosphaera ramispina and may in fact represent the same species.
Gymnosphaera annae · Gymnosphaera biformis · Gymnosphaera commutata · Gymnosphaera dimorpha · Gymnosphaera glabra · Gymnosphaera metteniana · Gymnosphaera acrostichoides · Gymnosphaera andersonii · Gymnosphaera baileyana · Gymnosphaera capensis · Gymnosphaera denticulata · Gymnosphaera gigantea
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Gymnosphaera atropurpurea 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.
