Cyathea cooperi

Cyathea cooperi (Hook. ex F. Muell.) Domin
The Australian tree fern Cyathea cooperi is native to
Queensland, Australia. It has been introduced outside
its native range as an ornamental plant. It has escaped
cultivation in some of its introduced range and is reported
as invasive.
The native habitat for C. cooperi is in gullies and rainforests.
It can also be found along roadsides and stream courses
above the permanent waterline. C. cooperi is somewhat
tolerant of dry conditions but is found most in wet sites.
These wet sites are usually where there is ground. This
species likes loam, clay loam, and sand soils.
The fast growing fern spreads its spores very easily by wind
and proceeds to grow within a few weeks. It can grow up to
12m high and its fronds can grow up to 5m long.
C. cooperi is listed as one of several ornamental invasive
plants rated as highly invasive and a threat to mountain
forests on Reunion. Reunion is the last of the Mascarene
Archipelago with large areas of untransformed mountain
forests. In Hawaii C. cooperi has displaced two native species
of Cyathea, C. excelsa and C. bourbonica in native rainforests
and headlands where it forms dense monotypic stands.
Sawing the trunk at ground level, or leaving a thigh high
Click here to view archives of previous weeks’ species
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons (User: Hedwig Storch)
stump that won’t become a trip hazard is a suggested way of
controlling the spread of C. cooperi.
References:
Global Invasive Species Database, 2011. Cyathea cooperi (Hook. ex F. Muell.) Domin
Medeiros, A.C., L.L. Loope, T. Flynn, J. Anderson, L.W. Cuddihy, K.A. Wilson. 1992.
Notes on the status of the invasive Australian tree fern (Cyathea cooperi) in Hawaiin
rain forests. American Fern Journal. 82(1): 27-33.
Tassin J., J. Triolo and C. Lavergne, 2007. Ornamental plant invasions in mountain
forests of Re´union (Mascarene Archipelago): a status review and management
directions. African Journal of Ecology. 45(3). SEP 2007. 444-447