The Tree Ferns of Flora Brasiliensis
Tree ferns are among the plants that stand out most in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Their forms have captivated some of the world’s greatest naturalists.
CRIA - Centro de Referência em Informação Ambiental
Fernando B. Matos
Charles Darwin (1840) by George RichmondOriginal Source: From Origins, Richard Leakey and Roger Lewin
Charles Darwin in Brazil
During his brief visit to Rio de Janeiro in 1832, the young Charles Darwin was amazed by the tree ferns. In his travel diary, he wrote: “The watercourses were adorned by the most elegant of all plant forms, the tree fern.”
Martius and the tree ferns
Not long before that, during his epic travels in Brazil (1817-1820), the great botanist Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius was also captivated by these plants.
Flora Brasiliensis: Vol. I, Part I, Fasc. See Urban Plate 14 (1906)CRIA - Centro de Referência em Informação Ambiental
“I don’t know which species surprised me the most when I first saw them: the palm tree [...] or the fern,” he said in one of his works dedicated to the ferns of Brazil (Martius, 1834, p. 79).
Stems of Cyathea (Tab.I) (1822)Original Source: von Martius, C.F.P.: De plantis nonnullis antediluvianis ope specierum inter tropicos viventium illustrandis. Denkschr. Königl.-Baier. Bot. Ges. Regensburg 2: 121-147. 1822.
Species new to science
The first new species of Cyatheaceae (tree fern family) described by Martius were published in 1822, shortly after his return to Munich.
Icones Plantarum Cryptogamicarum (1828-1834)
Other species were described and illustrated later, in a work entirely dedicated to “plants” without seeds (algae, lichens, mosses, and ferns) collected by Martius in Brazil.
Tab.XXXII by Carl Friedrich Philipp von MartiusOriginal Source: von Martius, C.F.P.: Icones plantarum cryptogamicarum, Impensis auctoris, Monachii, 1828-1834.
A remarkable scientific partnership
In this detailed study, Martius relied on the expertise of the German botanist Hugo von Mohl (1805-1872), one of the pioneers in plant anatomy.
Detailed descriptions and ecology of tree ferns
Martius's section included descriptions of nearly 20 tree fern species, along with taxonomic comments and observations on their geographical distribution and ecology.
Illustrations
However, what impresses the most are the beautiful, colorful, and detailed illustrations that accompany the descriptions, revealing the unique characteristics of each species with great scientific accuracy and artistic sensitivity.
Tab.XXIX by Carl Friedrich Philipp von MartiusOriginal Source: Icones Plantarum Cryptogamicarum
Tree ferns in detail
In addition to depicting the tree ferns in their natural habitats, the work also includes plates with details of the stems, leaves, and sori.
John Gilbert Baker (circa 1900) by Joseph Wilson ForsterOriginal Source: Collection of the Herbarium, Library, Art & Archives, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Flora Brasiliensis
Sadly, Martius didn’t have time to produce a taxonomic study for the tree ferns in Flora Brasiliensis. That task was undertaken by the British botanist John Gilbert Baker (1834-1920) and was only published in 1870, two years after Martius died.
Flora Brasiliensis: Vol. I, Part II, Fasc. 49 Plate 20 Published in 1870, May 1 by Dicksonia and EudicksoniaCRIA - Centro de Referência em Informação Ambiental
Baker and the ferns
In total, Baker identified 38 tree fern species for Brazil.
Flora Brasiliensis: Vol. I, Part II, Fasc. 49 Plate 53 Published in 1870, May 1 by Alsophila and ChnoophoraCRIA - Centro de Referência em Informação Ambiental
Flora Brasiliensis
The illustrations are all in black and white, displaying diagnostic features of some species.
A modern version of Flora Brasiliensis
More recently, 979 researchers from various countries collaborated to produce the "Flora of Brasil 2020". In this work, 60 tree fern species were recognized for Brazil.
These 60 species can be divided into two groups, known in Brazil as the xaxins-de-espinho (spiny tree ferns, belonging to the Cyatheaceae family) and the xaxim-bugio (Dicksonia sellowiana Hook., belonging to the Dicksoniaceae). The term “samambaiuçu” can be used for both, as it means “big fern” in Tupi-Guarani.
Samambaiaçu: big ferns
Some of these species can grow up to 20 meters tall, and they use two strategies for this: 1) their stems are internally harden with a tissue called sclerenchyma; 2) a thick mantle of roots forms around the stems, increasing their diameter.
Vases and sculptures by Robbin C. MoranCRIA - Centro de Referência em Informação Ambiental
Endangered ferns
These mantles were once widely used as a substrate for cultivating orchids, as well as for hand-crafting pots and sculptures. Nowadays, the sale of these products is illegal, as all tree fern species are protected by an international agreement (CITES).
Research and writing: Fernando B. Matos (CRIA)
Assembly: Fernando B. Matos (CRIA)
Review: Lana Sylvestre (UFRJ), Luiza F. A. de Paula (UFMG), Renato De Giovanni (CRIA)
References: Flora Brasiliensis (http://florabrasiliensis.cria.org.br/opus); Viagem pelo Brasil (https://www2.senado.leg.br/bdsf/handle/id/573991); Icones Plantarum Cryptogamicarum (https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/16100)
Additional information: http://florabrasiliensis.cria.org.br/stories
Acknowledgments: To the authors of the images.
*Every effort has been made to credit the images, audio, and video and correctly recount the episodes narrated in the exhibitions. If you find errors and/or omissions, please email contato@cria.org.br
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