| Home | > | List of families | > | Sinopteridaceae | > | Cheilanthes | > | eckloniana |
| Synonyms: |
Notholaena eckloniana Kunze Notholaena krebsiana C. Presl. |
| Common names: | |
| Frequency: | |
| Status: | Native |
| Description: |
Rhizome creeping or ascending, c. 6 mm in diameter; rhizome scales dark brown with pale margin, narrowly lanceolate in outline, margin entire. Fronds tufted, erect, rigid, coriaceous, up to 45 cm (in shade), averaging 30 cm. Stipe dark brown, shiny, up to 26 cm long, on the whole as long as the lamina, thickly set with pale brown to cream, hair-like scales and larger, lanceolate, brown scales with cream margins, giving the stipe a sand-coloured appearance. Lamina 6.5-24.5 cm × 2-6 cm, lanceolate-ovate to narrowly oblong in outline, 2-pinnatifid to 3-pinnatifid on the basiscopically developed basal pinnae, which are slightly or not reduced. Pinnae up to 6 cm long, deltate, frequently curved, curling up when dry, upper surface dark green, lightly set with white, hair-like scales, undersurface more densely set with hairs, mixed with distinctive, overlapping, shiny golden brown scales along the costae and costules. Rhachis dark brown, hairy and scaly. Sori small, marginal, interrupted; indusium very small, membranous or absent. |
| Notes: | Could be confused with C. inaequalis var. buchananii or C. inaequalis var. inaequalis but none of these have the shiny golden-brown scales along the costae and costules, and with both the basal pinnae are the largest and not reduced. |
| Derivation of specific name: | eckloniana: named after C.F. Ecklon (1795-1868), Danish pharmasist, botanist and plant collector, one of the earliest explorers of the Cape. |
| Habitat: | Shallow soils on sheetrock, boulder bases and in montane grassland. |
| Altitude range: (metres) | 700 - 2000 m |
| Worldwide distribution: | Lesotho, Naminia, South Africa, Eswatini, Zimbabwe |
| Zimbabwe distribution: | C,E,S |
| Growth form(s): | Lithophyte, terrestrial. |
| Endemic status: | |
| Red data list status: | |
| Insects associated with this species: | |
| Spot characters: | Display spot characters for this species |
| Literature: |
Burrows, J.E. (1990). Southern African Ferns and Fern Allies. Frandsen, Sandton. Pages 130 - 132. (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 342 - 343. (Includes a picture). Jacobsen, W.B.G. (1983). The Ferns and Fern Allies of Southern Africa. Butterworths, Durban and Pretoria. Page 256. (Includes a picture). Mapaura, A. & Timberlake, J. (eds) (2004). A checklist of Zimbabwean vascular plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 33 Sabonet, Pretoria and Harare Page 9. Roux, J.P. (2001). Conspectus of Southern African Pteridophyta. Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report 13 Page 62. Roux, J.P. (2009). Synopsis of the Lycopodiophyta and Pteridophyta of Africa, Madagascar and neighbouring islands Page 181. Schelpe, E.A.C.L.E. (1970). Pteridophyta Flora Zambesiaca Page 125. |
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