Weeds of Australia - Fact Sheet

Top Scientific Name Synonyms Family Common Names Origin Naturalised Distribution Notes

Scientific Name

Cyathea cooperi (Hook. ex F. Muell.) Domin

Synonyms

Alsophila australis R. Br. var. cervicalis F.M. Bailey
Alsophila australis R. Br. var. excelsa F.M. Bailey
Alsophila australis R. Br. var. pallida F.M. Bailey
Alsophila cooperi Hook. ex F. Muell.
Alsophila cooperi Hook. & Baker, nom. illeg.
Alsophila excelsa auct. non R.Br. ex Endl.
Alsophila excelsa R. Br. ex Endl. var. cooperi (Hook. ex F. Muell.) Domin
Alsophila hilliana F.Muell.
Cyathea australis (R. Br.) Domin var. cervicalis (F.M. Bailey) Domin
Cyathea australis (R. Br.) Domin var. pallida (F.M. Bailey) Domin
Cyathea brownii (R. Br.) Domin var. cooperi (Hook. ex F. Muell.) Domin
Sphaeropteris cooperi (Hook. ex F. Muell.) R.M. Tryon

Family

Cyatheaceae

Common Names

Australian tree fern, Cooper's cyathea, Cooper's tree fern, giant scaly tree fern,  lacy tree fern, rough tree fern, scaly tree fern, scaly tree-fern, straw tree fern, straw treefern, tree fern

Origin

Native to eastern Queensland and northern New South Wales (i.e. from Cooktown in northern Queensland south to the central regions of New South Wales).

Naturalised Distribution

Naturalised beyond its native range in the coastal districts of southern and central New South Wales. Also naturalised in south-western Western Australia (i.e. between Perth and Albany) and south-eastern South Australia, and possibly naturalised in southern Victoria.

Naturalised overseas in Hawaii and on La Réunion.

Notes

This species is regarded as a minor environmental weed in south-western Western Australia and some parts of New South Wales (e.g. in the wider Sydney and Blue Mountains region), and as a "sleeper weed" in other parts of southern Australia.

Lacy tree fern (Cyathea cooperi) has escaped cultivation and invaded native vegetation along streams and around swamps in south-western Western Australia. Similarly, it is well established in moist gullies and along creeks in bushland in the Sydney region (e.g. in Lane Cove National Park). It has also become a serious weed of rainforests on some of the Hawaiian islands.