Cyrtomium falcatum (L.f.) C. Presl.
Synonyms |
polypodium falcatum L.f. |
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Common name |
Asiatic holly fern. |
Description |
Rhizome erect, massive, with several fronds at apex; rhizome scales up to 20 x 5 mm, ovate to oblong-lanceolate in outline, apex gradually tapering to a point, reddish brown to brown, paler near margin, papery. Fronds 60 x 25 cm (up to 1 m long), tufted, erect, coriaceous, evergreen, monomorphic, blade/stipe ratio: 3:2. Stipe 10-40 cm long, strawcoloured, scales similar to those on rhizome. Lamina 15-60 x 8-20 cm, pinnate, oblong-lanceolate to elliptic-oblong in outline, leathery, glossy, bright green, glabrous above, wooly scales below early, then falling. Pinnae 4 to 16 pairs and an irregular apical pinna, 4-9(-12) x 1.5-3 cm, asymmetrical ovate in outline, curved, pointed at the tip, base unequally wedge-shaped, sometimes with short, basal, acroscopic lobe, not reduced basally, dark green and glossy above, dull and pale green beneath, hairless on both surfaces; margins often wavy or coarsely and irregularly toothed; veins netted. rhachis as for stipe. Sori many (± 220 per pinna), round, c. 1.5 mm, dispersed on the lower surface of pinnae throughout or sometimes confined to the upper pinnae; indusium circular, peltate, brown, sometimes blackish center, persistent, hairless. |
Notes | naturalised in South Africa |
Derivation | falcatum: falcate, reference to the sickle-shaped pinnae of this fern. |
Habitat | Various habitats, including crevices in coastal cliffs in South Africa. |
Distribution worldwide | Japan, Korea, China (eastern and southern parts), Vietnam, India, naturalised in Australia, South Africa and the United States. |
Distribution in Africa |
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Growth form |
Lithophytic, terrestrial. |
Literature |
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