Maruhachi - Maruhachi

Japanese: マルハチ - まるはち

This tree fern is endemic to Ogasawara and grows in colonies on open slopes. The leaves fall off in an unclear abscission layer, but after they have fallen, the arrangement of vascular bundles on the surface of the trunk resembles an upside-down Chinese character for eight, which gives the Japanese name "eight" in a circle. This became the basis for its use as the Japanese name for the Cyatheaceae family, and the same name is now given to species such as Kusamaruhachi, which do not form trunks and therefore have no traces of leaves that look like the eight in a circle. The trunk is upright and can reach 5m, with leaves growing in a crown shape at the tip.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

小笠原特産の木生シダで，ひらけた斜面に群生する。葉が不鮮明な離層で脱落するが，落ちたあと幹の表面に，維管束の配列が漢字の八の字を逆にしたように見えるので，丸の中に八の字が見えるということから和名がついた。これが基となり，ヘゴ科の和名のように使われるようになったので，幹が形成されず，したがって丸の中に八の字の見える葉の痕跡が残らないクサマルハチのような種にも，同じ名が与えられている。幹は直立して5mに達し，先端に葉を冠状に出す。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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