Entry From
Flora of Tropical East Africa, page 1, (2008) Author: Henk Beentje
Names
Asplenium loxoscaphoides Baker [family ASPLENIACEAE], in Trans. Linn. Soc. 2: 354 (1887); Johns, Pterid. trop. East Africa checklist: 65 (1991); Faden in U.K.W.F. ed. 2: 29, t. 173 (1994). Type: Tanzania, Kilimanjaro, Johnston 43 (K!, holo.)
Range
DISTR. K 1, 3–6; T 2, 6, 7
Distribution
KENYA Mt Elgon, E slope above Tweedie’s saw-mill, Feb. 1948, Hedberg 116!KENYA Meru District Ithangune, near Katheri, June 1969, Faden et al. 69/780!KENYA Masai District Chyulu Hills, Oct. 1969, Gillett & Kariuki 18857!TANZANIA Kilimanjaro, above Mandara Hut, Oct. 1993, Grimshaw 93/860!TANZANIA Masai District Embagai crater rim, Dec. 1956, Greenway 9138!TANZANIA Morogoro District Uluguru Mts, Bondwa SE, Sep. 1970, Faden et al. 70/638!
Notes
CONSERVATION Fairly widespread in a series of habitats and often locally common; Least Concern (LC). Baker in his protologue said the taxon was close to A. rutifolium; the characters he uses in the description are similar to those of rutifolium, except for ‘lower pinnae 10–12.5 cm long, 10–12 mm wide’ – which is larger than in rutifolium. The type (and only specimen Baker saw) does not have a stipe & rhizome. Baker did not mention how he thought the plant differed from rutifolium. I believe there are some differences, as per the key (rhizome scales being the most clear; plus some relative sizes) but the two taxa are close, and there are some vexing overlap characters/specimens (see under A. rutifolium). Asplenium centrafricanum Pic.Serm. in Webbia 27: 436 (1972 publ. 1973) from Burundi, Zaire is probably the same; the differences enumerated in the protologue do not sound very different to me.