Cyathea columbiana Domin (1929: 263)

Lehnert, Marcus, 2011, Species of Cyathea in America related to the western Pacific species C. decurrens, Phytotaxa 26, pp. 39-59 : 52

22. Cyathea multiflora Smith (1793: 416) . Hemitelia multiflora (Sm.) Sprengel (1827: 126) . Alsophila multiflora (Sm.) Presl (1836: 61) . Amphicosmia multiflora (Sm.) Gardner (1842: 441) . Type:—“Amer. Merid.,” Shakespeare s.n. (holotype BM [Herb. Banks], photo GH, NY, US, fragment US). Hemitelia denticulata Hooker (1865: 31) . Type:— PITCAIRN ISLANDS. “Elizabeth Island” (= Henderson

Island), Cuming 1360 (holotype K). Holttum (1964: 274) excludes these specimens from Pacific species

of Cyathea sensu lato. Fosberg et al. (1983) do not report any tree fern from Henderson Island. Most

likely, a labeling error occurred. Cuming collected mainly seashells in the southeastern Pacific and

ventured from Chile, via Ecuador and Panama, north to Mexico. Tryon (1976) thinks that the specimen

was probably collected in Panama. Hemitelia obscura Mettenius (1864: 264) . Cyathea columbiana Domin (1929: 263) , nom. nov. for Hemitelia

obscura Mett. , not Cyathea obscura (Mett.) Copeland (1909: 37) . Type:— COLOMBIA. “Prov. de

Barbacoas, via de Tuquerres,” 1600 m, Triana s.n. (holotype not located, W?, isotypes, COL-fragment

GH, K-fragment NY, P).

Distribution and habitat: — Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, in humid to wet forests between 400–1400 m.

Remarks: — Cyathea multiflora as defined here is restricted to Mesoamerica and the slopes of the western Andes. The species forms regional variations that cannot be clearly separated. Plants from the northern Andes have relatively large arching indusia and form the basis for Hemitelia obscura (= C. colombiana ). Some populations in southern Ecuador produce almost black petiole scales at the petiole bases, but have the characteristic reddish brown scales in the upper parts. Plants from Costa Rica have mostly small indusia and a variable amount of hairs on the laminae abaxially.