Alsophila smithii

Cyathea smithii
Illustration of Cyathea smithii from The Botany of the Antarctic Voyage of H.M. Discovery Ships Erebus and Terror.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Pteridophyta
Class:	Pteridopsida
Order:	Cyatheales
Family:	Cyatheaceae
Genus:	Cyathea
Subgenus:	Cyathea
Section:	Alsophila
Species:	C. smithii
Binomial name
Cyathea smithii J. D. Hooker, 1854
Synonyms
Hemitelia smithii (J. D. Hooker) W. J. Hooker, 1865 Hemitelia stellulata Col., 1886 Alsophila smithii (J. D. Hooker) Tryon , 1970 (non Alsophila smithii Trevis., 1851; quae Alsophila glauca?)

Cyathea smithii, commonly known as the Soft Tree Fern or Katote, is a species of tree fern.

Distribution and ecology

The species natural distribution covers North Island, South Island, Stewart Island/Rakiura, and the Chatham Islands of New Zealand south to the Auckland Islands. It is common in montane forest, with populations from the southern regions of its range growing in lowland forest. In the Westland forests of South Island, C. smithii occurs in the understory of certain broadleaf/podocarp forests.

Cyathea smithii showing stem detail.

Cyathea smithii showing spores.

References

• John E. Braggins and Mark F. Large. 2004. Tree Ferns. Timber Press, Inc., p. 260. ISBN 0-88192-630-2
• C. Michael Hogan. 2009. Crown Fern: Blechnum discolor, Globaltwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
• The International Plant Names Index: Cyathea smithii