This rare pre-glacial plant was the "king of ferns" that lived at the same time as the dinosaurs

One day hundreds of millions of years ago, two dinosaurs strolled in the jungle. They leisurely ate the leaves of tall tree ferns, contentedly. The world has changed dramatically, and the dinosaurs have become extinct, but the tree ferns have survived tenaciously to this day. This tree fern looks like a coconut tree at first glance, with huge leaves spirally arranged at the top of the trunk, like a big green umbrella. It has a tall and straight tree shape, up to more than 10 meters in height, and a trunk diameter of about 10-20 centimeters, but it belongs to the fern family; it is a plant that is said to be contemporary with the dinosaurs, and it is also a living fossil of a plant that can be called a "national treasure". It is the Alsophila spinulosa. Alsophila spinulosa is a fern plant of the Alsophilaceae family and the Alsophila genus, and is known as the "king of ferns". Because Alsophila spinulosa is a fern plant that can grow into a large tree, it is also called "tree fern". It is the only existing woody fern plant, a national second-level key protected wild plant, and has been listed as an endangered plant under first-level protection by many countries.

Tree ferns grow slowly, and only grow a few meters in 100 years. Alsophila spinulosa has high requirements for the growth environment, requiring a high forest coverage rate, mild climate, short sunshine, high humidity, and an environment without pollution and human damage. However, Alsophila spinulosa will not bloom or bear fruit. This means that Alsophila spinulosa has no seeds, so how does it reproduce? The secret lies in the dots on the back of its leaves. On the back of its leaves, there are many groups of sporangia. After about a year, the mature sporangia will crack and eject the spores inside. The tiny spores like dust are scattered by the wind, drifting along the water, taking root and growing. Adult Alsophila spinulosa produces a large number of spores every year, but not every spore can successfully grow into a Alsophila spinulosa tree.

Data picture: The "living fossil" Alsophila spinulosa community

Alsophila spinulosa is very delicate. Changes in environmental factors such as humidity and temperature may affect the survival rate of spores. In addition, Alsophila spinulosa is afraid of both drought and floods. It likes to grow on moist slopes and sunny streams. Due to the characteristics of Alsophila's own reproduction and the destruction of its living environment, groups of Alsophila spinulosa are now rare in the world. In many places, you can only occasionally see its lonely figure in a corner of the mountains. But in Bamei Town, Guangnan County, Wenshan Prefecture, Yunnan Province, there is a Alsophila spinulosa forest of more than 10,000 acres. In order to protect these "living fossils" of plants, local villagers spontaneously included the protection of Alsophila spinulosa forests into village rules and regulations, and guarded it like a treasure. In April 2022, staff from the Nanshan Provincial Nature Reserve in Shixing, Shaoguan, discovered Alsophila spinulosa for the first time during a field survey; subsequently, more than 30 Alsophila spinulosa were discovered near another valley. Alsophila spinulosa has been found in Tianjingshan National Forest Park and the forests near the western suburbs of Shaoguan City. In addition, nature reserves have also effectively protected Alsophila spinulosa. In the Chishui Alsophila National Nature Reserve in Guizhou Province, gurgling water and towering trees can be seen everywhere. Alsophila spinulosa trees three to five meters high grow in the moist and cool jungle.

Data picture: The "living fossil" Alsophila spinulosa community

The research and protection of Alsophila spinulosa will help us gain a deeper understanding of the epic evolution of life on Earth over billions of years, improve our knowledge and understanding of life through the use of biological thinking, and fill the gap in the research of the evolution of life on Earth and plants. I believe that the relevant departments of our country will continue to carry out effective biodiversity conservation work, making our country a habitat for many animals and plants to survive and reproduce.

Review expert: Yang Rurong, associate researcher at the Institute of Geography and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences

China Association for Science and Technology Department of Science Popularization

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