Cheilanthes - Sinopteridaceae

Cheilanthes acrostica (Balb.) Tod.

 

 

 

 

Synonyms

Pteris acrostica Balbis
Cheilanthes fragrans Sw. var. acrostica (Balb.) Fiori

Common name

Description

Rhizome shortly creeping, often branched in terminal part; rhizome scales narrow, 1-1.5 x 0.5-0.8 mm, red-brown. Fronds monomorphic, densely tufted, 8-17 x 2-3.5 cm, stiff. Stipe 3-5 cm long, dark brown, with scattered scales similar to those on the rhizome basaly. Lamina 2-pinnate, lanceolate in outline, bluish to dark green, hairless above; pinnae in 8-12 pairs, broadly lanceolate in outline, 1-2 x 0.8-1 cm, deeply pinnatifid; ultimate segments oblong in outline, margin bluntly toothed to deeply pinnatifid, apex narrowly rounded, 8-10 x 3-5 mm, hairy underneath, subglabrous on upper surface; venation obscure. Sori marginal, at first discrete but forming a continuous line at maturity; indusium continuous or irregularly discontinuous, narrow, membranous.

Notes

Derivation

Habitat

Shady, damp areas under sanstone rock.

Distribution worldwide

Africa, Cape Verde Islands, Southern Europe, Turkey, Iran, Afganistan to western Himalayas.

Distribution in Africa

Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, Morocco and Western Sahara, Tunesia.

Growth form

Terrestrial.

Literature

  • Hedberg, I; Friis, Ib & Persson, E (2009) Lycopodiaceae to Pinaceae.Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea, vol.1 Page 64.
  • Roux, J.P. (2009) Synopsis of the Lycopodiophyta and Pteridophyta of Africa, Madagascar and neighbouring islands. Strelitzia 23, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria. Pages 179 - 180.
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