Pyrrosia lanceolata (L.) Farw.
Synonyms |
Acrostichum lanceolatum L. |
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Common name |
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Description |
Rhizome slender, widely creeping, 1.2-2.1 mm in diameter; rhizome scales pale brown to grey, linear to lanceolate in outline, ciliate, 1-8 x 0.3-1.3 mm. Fronds spaced apart (1-2 cm), stipitate, coriaceous, moderately to distinctly dimorphic. Stipe 0.5-5 cm long, densely covered with soft hairs when young, glabrous later. Lamina 2-31 × 0.3-3.5 cm, simple, linear-lanceolate to linear-elliptic, apex pointed to rounded, base wedge-shaped to tapering, margins narrowly reflexed; lower surface densely covered with soft, appressed, grey to brown stellate hairs with short arms, upper surface sparsely covered to more or less hairless. Sori numerous, oval, up to 1 mm long, confined to the upper half of the frond, emerging through the hairs. |
Notes | Can be distinguished from other Pyrrosia species by its narrower fronds bearing stellate hairs with short, flattened arms, and the slender, widely creeping rhizome with fronds spaced wider apart (up to 4 cm) bearing ciliate scales. |
Derivation | lanceolata: lanceolate, referring to the outline of the fronds, a rather meaningless epithet as it applies to practically all the species of the genus. |
Habitat | Brachystegia woodland or in low-altitude riverine forest, evergreen forest. |
Distribution worldwide | Africa, Madagascar, Mauritius, Principe, Réunion, Rodrigues Isl.; also from India to China, Indo-China, Malesia, Australia and Pacific. |
Distribution in Africa |
Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Dem. Republic of Congo, Gabon, Mozambique, Tanzania , Uganda, Zimbabwe. |
Growth form |
Epiphytic, lithophytic. |
Literature |
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