Cibotium

The genus Cibotium is a member of the family Dicksoniaceae (which also includes Calochlaena, Culcita, Cystodiopteris, Dicksonia, and Thyrsopteris).

The genus was first described in 1824 and consists of eleven species of large tree ferns (plus a naturally occuring hybrid, Cibotium x heleniae). Some species have tall trunks and may reach a height of 8 meters (26 feet) with a crown of spreading fronds up to six meters (20 feet) in length. Others have a prostrate habit.

As with Dicksonia, Cibotium have hairs rather than the scales found on Cyathea.

Cibotium is endemic to north-east India, southern China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Guinea, the Ryukyu Islands (Japan), the islands of the Pacific (including Hawai`i), El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and southern Mexico (Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Veracruz).

Worldwide distribution of Cibotium species:

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The fossilized spores of Cibotium have been found in sediments from the Miocene Epoch (7 to 28 million years ago) and Quaternary Period. These fossils are regarded as indicators of periods of wet climate and rainforest conditions.

Plants grow well in moist, well drained humus in open, light conditions. They do not tolerate frost and generally need to be sheltered from wind.

The 1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants lists one species, Cibotium cumingii, from the Philippines as threatened.