Alsophila sinuata, synonym Cyathea sinuata, is unique among the tree ferns in that it has entire leaves, not pinnate or lobed. It is native to Sri Lanka but rare, being only known from one local forest area. It is one of the smallest species of tree ferns, growing only about one meter (3.3 feet) tall, with fronds 60 to 90 centimeters (15 to 23 inches) long.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Alsophila sinuata has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
Marker genes1
GenBank sequences3
eDNA detections1
Countries1
The DNA barcodea real sequence read deposited for this species
Cyathea sinuata chloroplast partial rbcL gene and rbcL-atpB intergenic spacer, specimen voucher Janssen et al. 3021 (P)
Marker genes sequenced
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
★rbcL3
plant barcode
07Deep time~3.82 Ma lineage
How far back this lineage goes — and how we know. Everything here is measured in Ma, short for “mega-annum”: millions of years ago. The chart reads left to right like a calendar of the Earth, from the deep past on the left to today at the right edgetop to bottom like a core drilled through the Earth, from the deep past at the top down to today at the bottom.
At a glance
DNA clock origin3.82 Ma TimeTree
When this lineage existed
How to read this: the coloured strip along the bottomdown the left is the geological calendar — the standard epochs (Pliocene, Pleistocene…) every museum uses, shown so you can see which chapter of Earth's history this lineage lived in. This lineage is a young one, so the strip is zoomed in to epochs — the finer subdivisions inside a period. The orange marker is the DNA clock: DNA accumulates mutations at a roughly steady rate, so comparing this species' DNA with its relatives estimates when the lineage split off — independently of any fossil.
DNA clock origin
08Occurrence & distribution
Record type8 records
Wild obs. + sensor2
Museum / vouchered6
Range
Area of Occupancy AOO20 km²
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Coordinate accuracy100% within 1 km
≤1 km 1
1 georeferenced · 1 without coordinates
Open the mapobservation + sensor2
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Coordinate accuracy0% within 1 km
>10 km 1
1 georeferenced · 5 without coordinates
Open the institutions mapphysical evidence6
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
10Collections & institutions
Holding institutions3 of 3 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
Institution
Specimens
Bronx, US
4
Stockholm, SE
1
Chicago, US
1
3 institutions · 6 of 6 vouchered records shown
09Environmental DNA1 detections
Where the DNA of Alsophila sinuata was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Detections DNA found1
Studies independent surveys1
Countries1
Signal confidence: weakweighed across independent studies, places & mapped detections
Where its DNA was found
0 of 1 detections have coordinates
Open the map1 country0
How strong is each trace?
DNA read depthRead counts were not reported for this species — the map shows presence only, not how strong each trace was.
Modelled climatemodelled
−15°Ctemperature across detection sites+40°C
Temperature median25.7 °C 25.7–25.7
Seasonal swing summer↔winter3.80 °C
Max temp (day)29.7 °C
Min temp (night)22.1 °C
Precipitation130 mm/mo
Air humidity64.2 %
Moisture balance-47.1 mm/mo
Vapour deficit1,194 Pa
Wind speed5.60 m/s
Cloud cover40.0 %
CHELSA 1981–2010, ~9 km grid, at location & month of 1 detection point · median with p10–p90 · reflects where sampling happened, not only the true niche
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.
