The spiny tree fern or sheshino (Cyathea manniana Hook.) is a tree fern and one of 326 species of Cyathea. It is readily identified by the fierce spines on its trunk, and is found in deep shade, next to mountain streams in evergreen forest in Angola, Annobon, Bioko, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, DRC, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tomé, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Tree ferns or Cyatheaceae include 15 genera with a pantropical distribution of some 500 accepted species and some 1,200 species yet to be assessed.