Species

Elaphoglossum lancifolium (Desv.) C.V. Morton

Photo: P. Ballings
Zimbabwe

Photo: JE. Burrows
Zimbabwe

Synonyms	Elaphoglossum petiolatum (Sw.) Urb. subsp. salicifolium (Willd. ex Kaulf.) Schelpe Acrostichum lancifolium Desv. Acrostichum salicifolium Willd. ex Kaulf. Elaphoglossum lineare sensu Sim Elaphoglossum salicifolium (Willd. ex Kaulf.) Alston Elaphoglossum convolutum Chiov.
Common name
Description	Rhizome creeping, c. 5 mm thick; rhizome scales dark brown, entire, attenuate. Fronds closely spaced to tufted, erect or arching, herbaceous to thinly coracious, simple, dimorphous. Sterile frond: stipe 8-13 cm long, stramineous to pale brown, articulated, at first densely covered with brown, ciliate, narrowly lanceolate scales; lamina up to 12-28 × 0.9-1.8 cm, linear-lanceolate in outline, apex pointed, base shortly tapering, margin inrolled, thinly covered on both surfaces with long, ciliate, deciduous scales, and some more persistent scales along the upper surface of the midrib. Fertile frond: stipe as for sterile but 9-20 cm long; lamina up to 18 × 0.6 cm, linear, apex pointed, base wedge-shaped, sporangia covering the whole undersurface of the lamina.
Notes	The ciliate scales on the lamina and stipe differentiate this species from E. acrostichoides.
Derivation
Habitat	Shade of low-altitude riverine forest or woodland.
Distribution worldwide	Africa, Seychelles, Comoro isl., Mauritius, Réunion, São Tomé and Madagascar.
Distribution in Africa	Cameroon , Dem. Republic of Congo , Equatorial Guinea (incl. Bioko), Ghana , Guinea , Liberia , Malawi , Mozambique , Rwanda , Sierra Leone , Tanzania , Zambia , Zimbabwe .
Growth form	Epiphytic, lithophytic.
Literature	Burrows, J.E. (1990) Southern African Ferns and Fern Allies. Frandsen, Sandton. Pages 286 - 288. As Elaphoglossum petiolatum subsp. salicifolium (Includes a picture). Fisher E. & Lobin W. (2024) Checklist of Lycopodiopsida (clubmosses and quillworts) and Polypodiopsida (ferns) of Rwanda.Willdenowia, 53 Page 162. Jacobsen, W.B.G. (1983) The Ferns and Fern Allies of Southern Africa. Butterworths, Durban and Pretoria. Pages 423 - 424. As Elaphoglossum petiolatum subsp. salicifolium (Includes a picture). Kornas, J. (1979) Distribution and ecology of the Pteridophytes in Zambia. Polska Akademia Nauk Wydzial II Nauk Biologicznych. Page 110. As Elaphoglossum petiolatum subsp. salicifolium 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 129. Roux, J.P. (2001) Conspectus of Southern African Pteridophyta.Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report, 13 Page 151. As Elaphoglossum salicifolium Schelpe, E.A.C.L.E. (1970) Pteridophyta.Flora Zambesiaca, 0 Page 215. As Elaphoglossum subsp. salicifolium Tardieu-Blot, M.-L. (1964) Ptéridophytes vol.3.Flore du Cameroun, Page 302. (Includes a picture).