Plant · GBIF taxon 4195539
Golden Chicken Fern
Cibotium barometzAlso known as Barometz, Woolly Fern, Scythian Lamb Fern, Golden Lamb Fern
Golden chicken ferns produce massive, doubly-pinnate fronds that sweep outward from a thick rhizome covered in soft, lustrous golden-yellow hairs. These dense hair tufts resemble the fleece of a small animal, giving rise to centuries of folklore about a legendary plant-animal hybrid. In tropical forest ravines across East and Southeast Asia, the fern anchors fragile slopes and creates humid microhabitats for understory wildlife.
FernTropicalMedicinal
—observations
—countries
—peak records
Not EvaluatedConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXNot Evaluated — not placed on the risk ladderRed List categories, explained →
Diet & prey
- Autotrophic (Photosynthetic)
Predators
- Herbivorous Insects
- Browsing Mammals
ThreatsOver-harvesting for traditional medicine, deforestation, habitat fragmentation
HabitatsSubtropical and tropical forests, moist ravines, shaded valleys
Life spanPerennial (decades)
Size / weightNot available
Classification
- FamilyCibotiaceae
- SpeciesCibotium barometz
Range data is not available yet.
Interaction riskLow
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Very high
- Why interaction risk is low
- Safe to observe at a normal distance.
- What to notice
- Recognized by large arching fronds arising from a creeping rhizome clad in dense, silky golden-brown hairs.
- Support conservation
- Photograph wild plants without touching or harvesting the rhizome or pulling away its protective hairs.
Responsible observation
- Visual ID: Examine the base of the crown to spot the distinctive silky golden hairs coating the rhizome.
- Ethical Viewing: Keep to established forest trails to avoid stepping on shallow roots or creeping rhizomes.
Ecological Counterpart no rights reserved · cc0
Look-Alike JJ Harrison / CC BY-SA 3.0 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Close Relative no rights reserved, uploaded by Zoltán Stekkelpak · cc0
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