Tree Fern

Living fossils that have survived since the age of dinosaurs. With their elegant trunks and crown of fronds, tree ferns give a prehistoric air to Panama's cloud forests.

Tree ferns of the genus Cyathea are primitive vascular plants dating from the Jurassic period, over 200 million years ago. Panama hosts numerous species, including the endemic Cyathea rojasiana. These ferns develop a woody trunk reaching heights of up to 20 meters, crowned by large pinnate fronds measuring up to 4 meters long. They grow in the cloud forests of Chiriquí, Veraguas, and Bocas del Toro, where high humidity and cool temperatures replicate the conditions that existed when they dominated the Earth. They are home to numerous epiphytic orchids, bromeliads, and mosses.

Habitat

Cloud forests and wet montane forests between 1000 and 2500 meters