Alsophila firma (Bak.) D. S. Conant

Cyathea patellaris Christ, Ann. Conserv. Jard. Bot
Geneve 4 : 207. 1900.
Caudex erect, stout, clothed above with long gra3dsh subulate scales and armed with broad dark curved spines ; stipe undescribed ; rachis stramineous-brownish, unarmed, lightly and laxly puberulo-furfuraceous, glabrescent; pinnae oblong-lanceolate, about 60 cm. long, 15-18 cm. broad, subsessile to short-p etiolate (1.5 cm,), short-acuminate, the secondary rachis strigose above, below laxly puberulous ; pinnules char taceocoriaceous, dull-green above, paler below, about 35 pairs, subsessile, oblong-lanceolate, 8-9 cm. long, 1.3-1.7 cm. broad, deeply pinnatifid into about 18 pairs of segments below the lightly biserrate caudate apex, the costa elevated upon both surfaces, strigose above, below minutely squamulose toward the base, glabrescent, scantily pubescent toward the apex ; segments oblong, subacute, falcate, 7-9 mm. long, 2.5-3 mm. broad above the dilatate base, connected by a costal wing about 1 mm. or more broad, the margins lightly crenate, the costules glabrous above, nearly or quite so below; veins evident, 8-10 pairs, mostly once-forked (the lowermost and the upper ones often simple), glabrous ; sori small, 6-8 pairs, seated at or below the forking of the veins, near the costule, close, strongly confluent at maturity ; indusium rupturing irregularly, wholly evanescent or the inferior portion persistent ; receptacle short, grayish, depressed-globose or crateriform, setiferous.
Type locality : Banks of the Rio de I,as Vueltas, Tucurrique, Costa Rica, altitude 635 meters. Distribution : Known only from Costa Rica.

Cyathea trejoi Christ, Bull. Herb. Boiss. II. 5 : 733. 1905
Caudex erect, long and slender, very spiny, without definite scars ; rachis stout, 2 cm. or more in diameter, stramineous or reddish, unarmed, shining ; pinnae articulate, readily deciduous, long-petiolate (4 cm. or more), narrowly ovate, 30 cm. or more long, 10 cm. broad, acuminate, scarcely narrowed at the base ; pinnules about 20 pairs, approximate, sessile, articulate, readily separable, lanceolate, 5.5 cm. long, 1.2-1.5 cm. broad, acuminate, cut nearly to the costa, the costa scantily yellowish-pilose ; segments about 15 pairs, 6-7 mm. long, about 3 mm. broad, oblong, slightly falcate, obtuse, crowded, separated by a very narrow obtuse sinus, slightly dilatate, joined by a very narrow costal wing, darkgreen above, below paler and subglaucous, the margins lightly and obscurely crenate, the costules naked above, below bearing a few hairs near the base ; veins about 6-8 pairs, dark, mostly simple, glabrous ; sori very small, 2 or 3 pairs, close to the costule, occupying the basal portion of the segment ; indusium grayish, membranous, globose ; receptacle small, blackish, scarcely elevated.
Type locality : San Pablo, State of Chiapas, Mexico, altitude 1500 meters. Distribution : Known only from the type collection (^Munch).

Alsophila firma, commonly known as the maquique fern (Spanish: helecho maquique, Nahuatl languages: peshma), is a deciduous tree fern in the family Cyatheaceae endemic to Mexico, other countries of Central America, Colombia, and Ecuador. In the cloud forests of Mexico, it is considered an emblematic species and serves as a host for native epiphytic plants. However, habitat destruction and overconsumption of the trunks for handicraft production have threatened populations in Mexico. As a result, Alsophila firma is considered threatened in the state of Veracruz and has been given special protection per Mexican law.