| Home | > | List of families | > | Thelypteridaceae | > | Christella | > | buchananii |
| Synonyms: |
Thelypteris dentata (Forssk.) E. P. St. John var. buchananii Schelpe |
| Common names: | |
| Frequency: | Rare |
| Status: | Native |
| Description: |
Rhizome shortly creeping, c. 10 mm in diameter; rhizome scales c. 5 mm long, dark brown, thinly pilose, entire. Fronds closely spaced, arching, not proliferous, thinly herbaceous. Stipe up to 25 cm long, pale to greyish brown, minutely pubescent to subglabrous. Lamina up to 1.6 × 0.54 m, narrowly elliptic to lanceolate in outline, deeply 2-pinnatifid, apex tapering to a point with a deeply pinnatifid terminal segment, basal pinnae 1 or 2 pairs reduced. Pinnae narrowly lanceolate, ultimate lobes oblong, slightly falcate, apex rounded, margin entire, basal acroscopic lobe enlarged and sometimes overlapping the rhachis; sparsely hairy on both surfaces, more so along the costa and costules; veins 2-3 pairs meeting below the sinus and a single vein joining in the sinus. Rhachis thinly set with long hairs. Sori round, up to 20 per lobe; indusia small, hairy, up to 1 mm wide. |
| Notes: | Christella dentata has 1 pair of veins meeting below the sinus and a single vein joining in the sinus, 1 or 2 pairs gradually reducing basal pinnae. Pneumatopteris unita has an erect rhizome and 4 to 5 pairs of veins meeting below or at the sinus.
C. buchananii look for: creeping rhizome, 2 or 3 pairs of gradually reducing pinnae, 2 or 3 pairs of veins meeting below the sinus. |
| Derivation of specific name: | buchananii: named after the Reverend John Buchanan (1821-1903). |
| Habitat: | Deeply shaded streambanks in low to medium altitude, evergreen or semideciduous forest. |
| Altitude range: (metres) | 350 - 950 m |
| Flowering time: | |
| Worldwide distribution: | Mozambique, South Africa, Zimbabwe |
| Zimbabwe distribution: | E |
| Growth form: | |
| Endemic status: | |
| Red data list status: | |
| Insects (whose larvae eat this species): | |
| Spot characters: | Display spot characters for this species |
| Literature: |
Burrows, J.E. (1990). Southern African Ferns and Fern Allies. Frandsen, Sandton. Pages 263 - 264. As Thelypteris dentata var. buchananii (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 686 - 687. (Includes a picture). Jacobsen, W.B.G. (1983). The Ferns and Fern Allies of Southern Africa. Butterworths, Durban and Pretoria. Pages 388 - 389. As Christella dentata var. buchananii 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 10. Roux, J.P. (2001). Conspectus of Southern African Pteridophyta. Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report 13 Page 120. Roux, J.P. (2009). Synopsis of the Lycopodiophyta and Pteridophyta of Africa, Madagascar and neighbouring islands Page 202. Schelpe, E.A.C.L.E. (1970). Pteridophyta FZ Pages 197 - 198. As Thelypteris dentata var. buchananii |
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