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Alsophila gigantea Wall. ex Hook., Sp. Fil. 1: 53 1844. (syn: Alsophila balakrishnanii (Dixit & Tripathi) Dixit; Alsophila helferiana Presl; Alsophila polycampta Kunze; Alsophila rheosora Christ; Alsophila umbrosa Wall. ex Ridl.; Cyathea balakrishnanii R. D. Dixit & A.K.Tripathi; Cyathea gigantea (Wall. ex Hook.) Holtt.; Cyathea pectinata Ching & S. H. Wu; Cyathea petiolulata Ching & S. H. Wu; Cyathea pseudogigantea Ching & S. H. Wu; Cyathea tinganensis Ching & S. H. Wu; Dichorexia gigantea (Wall. ex Hook.) Presl; Gymnosphaera gigantea (Wall. ex Hook.) J. Sm.; Polypodium giganteum Wall.; Polypodium umbrosum Wall.);
. Indian Subcontinent to W. Malesia: Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Cambodia, East Himalaya, India, Jawa, Laos, Malaya, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam as per POWO (Gymnosphaera gigantea (Wall. ex Hook.) S.Y.Dong); .
China (Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Yunnan), Sri Lanka, C-Sumatra, W-Java, peninsular Malaysia (Langkawi Isl., Penang, Perak), India (Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam State, Chhatishgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, West Bengal), Nepal, Myanmar [Burma], Thailand (widespread), Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Andaman Isl., Bhutan as per Catalogue of Life;
. Pachmari area of Satpura Tiger Reserve is a store house of many highly rare and endangered spices. More than hundred species of Pteridophyts are reported from the area. This area is known for the Satpura Hypothesis. Many Himalayan and Western Ghat’s species are found in the area. I have observed many plant & animal species, which are not found in Central India. I will post them in a series.
Recently Govt of India has decided to enclude Alosphila balkrishnani in the list of endengred species under Biodiversity Act.
I searched my old photographs and found a species looking like Alosphila balkrishnani. This is encluded in the Management Plan of Satpura tiger reserve as Cythia alosphila. I am enclosing the photogeraph, which i have taken from the Pachmari range of Satpura Tiger Reserve on 6.6.09
I think this is Alosphila balkrishnani, hope ID is correct. Experts please confirm. It is Cyathea gigantea and it is common among Cyathea group tree fern.
Alsophila is the synonym of Cyathea. .
Yes you are right. Alsophila balakrishnani is a synonym of Cyathea gigantea.
foto showing soral arrangement is very clear and informational, but that of habitat is not.
Any way thanks for you effort.
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Alsophila sp. from Kamrup district, Assam: Date : 21.12.2012
Location: Kamrup district Family : Cyatheaceae Genus & species: Alsophila sp. (Cyathea sp.). Habitat: Grows wild on hilly area Cyathea gigantea .
   fern NOT FOR ID 😊 :: Bhagamandala – Thalacauvery Road :: 22 FEB 2017 : 5 posts by 2 authors. 3 images.
Bhagamandala – Thalacauvery Road Karnataka
Date: 22 FEB 2017 … Altitude range: ~ 907 – 1122 m (2976 – 3683 ft) asl
Large fern …
Dear friends, Well since our dear old-timer, Linnaeus, reduced sentences to a binomial I can but follow him and inform you that this is Cyathea gigantea (or if you prefer to split genera, Alsophila gigantea), a common tree-fern throughout most of India. Perhaps unfortunately named as though it can develop a good tall trunk in very luxuriant and long-undisturbed conditions, it is probably more commonly not so tall, certainly not as tall as other full-grown species. Thank you very much …, and many many thanks to …!! . FOR VALIDATION ::
¿ Sphaeropteris crinita (Hook.) R.M.Tryon ? The Nilgiris :: Jan 30, 2026 · 9:37 AM IST
Avalanche, about 2037 m asl The sender didn’t realise the basic situation – Cyathea species cannot be identified from distant photos! Not at all! You have to take a close-up photo of the under-surface of a pinnule, so we can see the hairs and scales, and the sori.
The only thing I can see (I think!) in these far-away photos is that the stipe and rachis appear to be dark and are not densely covered in pale scales, so it is certainly not in Section Sphaeropteris and is not C. crinita.
Although we cannot convingly guess what it is without seeing the sori, I would imagine they would be in inverted Vs on each pinnule-lobe. So it is not likely to be anything other than C. gigantea – which is in section Gymnosphaera.
You can see splendid C. crinita with all the axes densely covered in white scales and hairs in the late Father Manickam’s old fern garden in the Sacred Heart College at Shembaganur, Kodaikanal, assuming they have maintained it. It is quite a different fern.
OK, many many thanks, …
I will update my notes with Cyathea gigantea (Wall. ex Hook.) Holttum … synonym of Gymnosphaera gigantea (Wall. ex Hook.) S.Y.Dong
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Alsophila gigantea
Updated on April 3, 2026