Cyathea aspera

Lehnert, Marcus, 2016, A synopsis of the exindusiate species of Cyathea (Cyatheaceae-Polypodiopsida) with bipinnate-pinnatifid or more complex fronds, with a revision of the C. lasiosora complex, Phytotaxa 243 (1), pp. 1-53 : 31-32

30. Cyathea aspera (L.) Swartz (1801: 93). Polypodium asperum Linnnaeus (1753: 1093) . Alsophila aspera (L.) Sprengel (1827: 124). Disphenia aspera (L.) Presl (1848: 349). Hemitelia aspera (L.) Fée (1852: 350). Type:— HAITI (?). Without locality, without date, C. Plumier s.n. [Pet. Fil. 40, t.4, f.2] (ex icone, Petiver 1712: 47).

Cyathea muricata Willdenow (1810: 497) . Alsophila muricata (Willd.) Desvaux (1827: 319) . Disphenia muricata (Willd.) Presl (1848: 349) . Hemitelia muricata (Willd.) Fée (1852: 350) . Type:— MARTINIQUE. Without locality, without date, C. Plumier s.n. [Plum. fil. 5, t.4 & Plum. fil. 48, t.4, f. 8] (ex icone, Petiver 1712: 47).

Polypodium alsophilum Link (1833: 106) . Cyathea alsophilum (Link) Domin (1929a: 262) , ex char. Type:— JAMAICA: From cultivated plant at Berlin Botanical Garden (holotype not located).

Alsophila nitida Kunze in Ettingshausen (1865: 222). Type:— MARTINIQUE. Without locality, 1851, G.S. Perrotet s.n. (lectotype W-0056017!, here designated, isolectotypes B-20-0078333!, W-0053353!/-0053354!).

Distribution and habitat: —Greater and Lesser Antilles, in moist premontane and montane forests at 150–1500 m.

Remarks: —Based on material studied at W and field observations on Hispaniola and Jamaica, the species falls into discrete populations. Plants from the Greater Antilles have large pinnae and pinnules to 9 × 2 cm, few ± concolorous brown bullate squamules on the costules and sori with pale short paraphyses (0.2–0.3 mm) and no subtending squamules. Plants from Martinique and Guadeloupe are probably typical of most of the lesser Antilles and differ from those from the Greater Antilles in having pinnules that are more oblong, to 7.0 × 1.5 cm large and subsessile with stalks to 1 mm long, with few inconspicuous, stumpy paraphyses, but with many squamules subtending the sori; on the costules and veins abaxially are abundant bullate squamules with dark brown tips and paler brown to yellowish white bases. Plants from Dominica have similarly short stalked pinnules but these are larger, almost reaching the maximum size of the Greater Antillean plants (ca. 9 × 1.8 cm); the sori bear red paraphyses of medium length (i.e. 0.5 mm long but not surpassing sporangia) and regularly subtending squamules, which are similar to the bullate squamules that are copious abaxially on the costules and midveins, almost complete yellowish white, few with darker tips. On Trinidad, Cyathea aspera has sessile linear-oblong pinnules to 8 × 1.5 cm, with simple fertile veins (vs. forked once, sometimes twice in the other populations), completely dark brown bullate squamules and sori with short (0.3 mm), medium brown paraphyses and no subtending squamules.

Because of these uncertainties the typification of most of the names subsumed under Cyathea aspera is postponed until a more detailed study can be conducted.