Dicksonia sellowiana

Dicksonia sellowiana
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Division:	Polypodiophyta
Class:	Polypodiopsida
Order:	Cyatheales
Family:	Dicksoniaceae
Genus:	Dicksonia
Species:	D. sellowiana
Binomial name
Dicksonia sellowiana Hook.

Dicksonia sellowiana, the xaxim, or samambaiaçu or imperial samambaiaçu, is an arborescent fern in the family Dicksoniaceae, native to the tropical Americas.

Distribution

The fern is native to Southern Mexico, Central America, and South America.

In the South American Atlantic Forest biome, it is found in: Southeastern Brazil within in the states of Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Paraná, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul; in northeast of Argentina within Misiones Province; and within eastern Paraguay.

Description

Dicksonia sellowiana has an erect and cilindric caudex, reaching sometimes more than 10 metres (33 ft) high, the fronds are bipinnate and 2 m (6 ft 7 in) long. Due to illegal extraction, the species is at risk of extinction.

Varieties

Dicksonia sellowiana is variable in its form. Variations are sometimes treated as separate varieties, which include:

• Dicksonia sellowiana var. ghiesbreghtii
• Dicksonia sellowiana var. gigantea
• Dicksonia sellowiana var. karsteniana
• Dicksonia sellowiana var. lobulata

External links

• GRIN-Global Web v 1.9.8.2: Taxonomy report of Dicksonia sellowiana