Cheilanthes - Sinopteridaceae

Cheilanthes viridis (Forssk.) Sw. var. glauca (Sim) Schelpe & N.C. Anthony

Photo: P. Ballings
Zimbabwe

Photo: P. Ballings
Zimbabwe

Photo: P. Ballings
Zimbabwe

Photo: P. Ballings
Zimbabwe

Photo: P. Ballings
Zimbabwe

Photo: P. Ballings
Zimbabwe

Photo: P. Ballings
Zimbabwe

Photo: P. Ballings
Zimbabwe

 

 

 

 

Synonyms

Pellaea viridis (Forssk.) Prantl var. glauca (Sim) Sim
Pellaea hastata (L.f.) Link var. glauca Sim

Common name

Description

Rhizome short, creeping, c.5 mm in diameter; rhizome scales lanceolate in outline, apex slowly tapering to a point, margin minutely toothed, up to 3 mm long, brown to rust-coloured with dark brown central stripe. Fronds monomorphic, tufted, erect to arching, blue to pale green, thinly coriaceous. Stipe up to 33 cm long, longer or shorter than the lamina, grooved, dark brown to blackish, shiny, set with scattered scales, more so towards the base. Lamina varying in size, shape and dissection; mostly 2-pinnate to 4-pinnatifid, lower pinnae slightly basiscopically developed, up to 20 cm × 8 cm, lanceolate to deltate or triangular in outline; pinnules ovate-oblong in outline, apex rounded to slightly pointed, margin entire to minutely crenate, both surfaces hairless; venation free, distinct; rhachis and secondary rhachis dark brown to black, deeply grooved with wings a paler chestnut colour, set with scattered, appressed hairlike scales, not pubescent in the axils. Sori marginal; indusium continuous, membranous, erose.

Notes

May be mistaken for C. virides var. viridis or C. involuta. C. viridis var. viridis has a rhachis that is broadly grooved, the base of the secondary rhachis and petiolules are set with short hairs. C. involuta var. obscura differs in having a rhachis that is broadly grooved, a dark chestnut-coloured stipe and veins that are hardly visible.
Verdcourt (2002) does not distinguish var. viridis from var. glauca.

Derivation

viridis: green, glauca: grey-green; referring to the colour of the lamina.

Habitat

Among rocks in woodland, in grassland and open outcrops, occasionally on the edges of forest or scrub.

Distribution worldwide

Africa, Mauritius.

Distribution in Africa

Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania , Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Growth form

Lithophytic, terrestrial.

Literature

  • Burrows, J.E. (1990) Southern African Ferns and Fern Allies. Frandsen, Sandton. Pages 146 - 148. (Includes a picture).
  • Crouch, N.R., Klopper, R.R., Burrows, J.E. & Burrows, S.M. (2011) Ferns of Southern Africa, A comprehensive guide. Struik Nature. Pages 394 - 395. (Includes a picture).
  • Jacobsen, W.B.G. (1983) The Ferns and Fern Allies of Southern Africa. Butterworths, Durban and Pretoria. Pages 286 - 287. As P. viridis var. glauca (Sim) Sim (Includes a picture).
  • Kornas, J. (1979) Distribution and ecology of the Pteridophytes in Zambia. Polska Akademia Nauk Wydzial II Nauk Biologicznych. Page 59. As P. viridis var. glauca (Sim) Sim
  • 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 186.
  • Roux, J.P. (2001) Conspectus of Southern African Pteridophyta.Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report, 13 Page 67.
  • Schelpe, E.A.C.L.E. (1970) Pteridophyta.Flora Zambesiaca, 0 Page 135. As P. viridis var. glauca (Sim) Sim
  •