Cyathea leucolepismata Alston, J. Wash. Acad. Sci.

Lehnert, Marcus & Kessler, Michael, 2018, Prodromus of a fern flora for Bolivia. XX. Cyatheaceae, Phytotaxa 334 (2), pp. 118-134 : 127

Cyathea leucolepismata Alston, J. Wash. Acad. Sci. 48: 231. 1958.

= Cyathea amazonica R.C.Moran, Nordic J. Bot. 1: 53. 1995.

Range: —Eastern Andes from Ecuador to Bolivia (BE, LP, SC).

Ecology: —Common in understory of lowland rainforests and lower montane forests, regularly found on white sands and sandstone-derived soils near water courses; 260–1150 m.

Notes: —Like in many other species with white-margined petiole scales, the extent of the darker central color varies within one plant, sometimes considerably. In this species, strongly bicolorous scales can be present on the trunk and the outer layers of the croziers, but all of the persisting petiole scales are almost concolorous save for a brown spot where the scales are inserted. Cyathea acutidens (Christ) Domin from Costa Rica to Colombia, which is sometimes regarded as synonymous with C. leucolepismata ( Rojas-Alvarado 2007) , is similar in the diagnostic characters but differs in wider, more ovate petiole scales, persistent scales on the rachises and shorter hairs on the costules abaxially. It also has basally tapering laminae and prefers humus rich soils in talus forests.