Selaginella kivuensis Bizarri
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Common name |
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Description |
Plant erect, with main stem up to 20 cm long and 0.6–0.8 mm in diam., cylindrical, branched, straw-yellow; rhizophores only in the lower part, forming a right angle with the stem, yellow-green, up to 5 cm long and 0.4–0.5 mm in diameter; branches probably in more than two rows, diverging at 45º from the main stem, pinnate. Leaves heteromorphic, yellow-green on the dorsal side, paler on the ventral side, usually provided with a hyaline margin; side leaves 1.7–1.8 mm apart on main stem and close together on branches, c. 2 x 1.1 mm, midrib inconspicuous, margin entire, acute , unequilateral, basiscopic half-face half-oval to lanceolate, rounded at base, acroscopic half-face half-oblong, truncate at base; middle leaves c. 1 mm apart on main stem, imbricated on branches, c. 1.2 x 0.8 mm, broadly elliptical, slightly unequal, rounded at base, entire on the edges, distinctly acuminate at the apex; axillary leaves c. 1.6 x 0.8 mm, ovate-lanceolate, slightly unequal, entire, acute at apex. Strobili solitary at branch tips, c. 0.8 x 2 mm. Sporophylls dimorphic; dorsal sporophylls yellow-green, 1.4–1.5 x c. 0.7 mm, ovate-lanceolate, slightly unequal, rounded at base, entire margin, acute at apex, keeled, green-keeled pale, whole; ventral sporophylls hyaline, c. 1 x 0.6–0.7 mm, broadly ovate-triangular, margin entire. Megaspores unknown. Vermilion microspores. |
Notes | |
Derivation | kivuensis: from Kivu, this plant was first collected in Irangi, South Kivu, DRC. |
Habitat | Dense forest, in fairly dry conditions, on the shaded edges of rivers and on the stones at the edge of falls; between 750 and 1550 m altitude. |
Distribution worldwide | See African distribution. |
Distribution in Africa |
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Growth form |
Lithophytic, terrestrial. |
Literature |
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