| Home | > | List of families | > | Gleicheniaceae | > | Gleichenia | > | elongata |
| Synonyms: |
Gleichenia ruwenzoriensis Brause Gleicheniastrum elongatum (Baker) Nakai |
| Common names: | |
| Frequency: | |
| Status: | Native |
| Description: |
Rhizome wiry, brown to black and shiny, naked, 2 mm in diameter. Fronds erect, oblong in outline, 0.3–1.4 m tall, coriaceous. Stipe matt, brownish straw-coloured, 13–18 cm long, glabrous. Rhachis continuing growth through up to 2 false dichotomies. Pinnae suberect, broadly lanceolate in outline, up to 14 × 5 cm; tufts of brown hair-scales 1.5(–4) mm long in the axils of the false dichotomies and sparsely on the pinnae costae. Pinnules up to 38 pairs per pinna, linear-attenuate in outline, to 3 × 2.5 cm, hairless, divided to the midrib into up to 25 pairs of rounded triangular lobes up to 1.5 × 1.5 mm. Sori solitary, not sunken, at the end of simple veins, consisting of 6–14 sporangia. |
| Notes: | Similar to Gleichenia polypodioides which has sori that are sunken into the lamina; a lamina that is dichotomously divided with 1 level of false dichotomy and is circular in outline. |
| Derivation of specific name: | elongata: long, lengthened. |
| Habitat: | Banks of a small stream in light shade. |
| Altitude range: | 1700 - 2600 m |
| Worldwide distribution: | DRC, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda. |
| Malawi distribution: | N |
| Growth form(s): | Terrestrial. |
| Endemic status: | |
| Red data list status: | |
| Insects associated with this species: | |
| Spot characters: | Display spot characters for this species |
| Literature: |
Burrows, J.E. & Burrows, S.M. (1993). An annotated check-list of the pteridophytes of Malawi Kirkia 14(1) Page 82. Burrows, J.E. & Willis, C.K. (eds) (2005). Plants of the Nyika Plateau Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 31 SABONET, Pretoria Page 31. (Includes a picture). Roux, J.P. (2001). Conspectus of Southern African Pteridophyta. Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report 13 Page 39. Roux, J.P. (2009). Synopsis of the Lycopodiophyta and Pteridophyta of Africa, Madagascar and neighbouring islands Page 50. Schelpe, E.A.C.L.E. (1970). Pteridophyta Flora Zambesiaca Pages 48 - 50. (Includes a picture). Verdcourt, B. (2000). Gleicheniaceae Flora of Tropical East Africa Pages 2 - 4. (Includes a picture). |
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