Species

Actiniopteris pauciloba Pic.Serm.

Synonyms	Actiniopteris kornasii Medw.-Kornas Actiniopteris australis sensu Carruth. Actiniopteris pauciloba Pic.Serm. var. stricta Medw.-Kornas
Common name
Description	Rhizome creeping; rhizome scales linear, entire, black, sometimes with pale margin, up to 4.5 mm long. Stipe strawcoloured, brown to black at the base, glabrous. Fronds densely tufted, erect, dimorphic, differing only in size and stipe length not in shape and degree of lamina dissection. Sterile frond: stipe 2.5-12 cm; lamina pseudo-palmate, 4.5 cm long and 8 cm wide, dichotomously divided into 8-13 narrow linear segments, segments apices finely toothed. Fertile frond: stipe 9-26 cm long; lamina pseudo-palmate, 5 cm long and 10 cm wide, dividing dichotomously into 8-16 linear segments, segment ending in a point. Sori in submarginal lines; indusium continuous.
Notes	Can be distinguished from other species by having fewer and more widely spread segments on the sterile fronds; the dried fronds also remain erect and not deflexed at right angles to the stipe.
Derivation	pauciloba: with few lobes; refers to the small number of pinnae segments in comparison with other species of the genus.
Habitat	In light shade in rocky areas and in Brachystegia woodland.
Distribution worldwide	Angola, DRC, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Distribution in Africa	Angola , Dem. Republic of Congo , Malawi , Tanzania , Zambia , Zimbabwe .
Growth form	Lithophytic, terrestrial.
Literature	Burrows, J.E. (1990) Southern African Ferns and Fern Allies. Frandsen, Sandton. Pages 181 - 182. (Includes a picture). Jacobsen, W.B.G. (1983) The Ferns and Fern Allies of Southern Africa. Butterworths, Durban and Pretoria. Page 293. (Includes a picture). Kornas, J. (1979) Distribution and ecology of the Pteridophytes in Zambia. Polska Akademia Nauk Wydzial II Nauk Biologicznych. Page 46. Lawalrée, A. (1969) Actiniopteridaceae.Flore du Congo, du Rwanda et du Burundi, Page 4. Roux, J.P. (2001) Conspectus of Southern African Pteridophyta.Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report, 13 Page 59. Roux, J.P. (2009) Synopsis of the Lycopodiophyta and Pteridophyta of Africa, Madagascar and neighbouring islands. Strelitzia 23, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria. Page 167. Schelpe, E.A.C.L.E. (1970) Pteridophyta.Flora Zambesiaca, 0 Pages 138 - 139. (Includes a picture).