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Gleichenia umbraculifera (Kunze) T.Moore [family GLEICHENIACEAE]
Date Updated: 19 August 2007
Herbarium
South African National Biodiversity Institute, Compton Herbarium, Cape Town (SAM)
Collection
Swaziland ferns and fern allies
Resource Type
Reference Sources
Entry From
Swaziland Ferns and Fern Allies, (2003) Author: J.P. Roux
Names
Gleichenia umbraculifera (Kunze) T.Moore [family GLEICHENIACEAE]
Common names
umbraculifera = umbrella-bearing
Vernacular names: Umbrella coral fern; Sambreel varing (Afr.)
Information
Plants terrestrial. Rhizome rooting at irregular intervals, wide-creeping, irregularly branched, corneus, castaneus, to 4 mm in diameter, initially closely set with scales, glabrous later, scales chartaceus, ferrugineus, lanceolate, cordate to cordate-imbricate, fimbriate, to 5.5 mm long, to 1.2 mm wide. Fronds spaced, to 50 mm apart, erect to scandent, with indeterminate growth; stipe firm, proximally castaneus, stramineous higher up, proximally terete, higher up slightly flattened adaxially, to 1.06 m long, to 4 mm in diameter, initially closely set with scales, glabrous later, scales chartaceus, ferrugineus, lanceolate, ovate-cordate, fimbriate, to 5 mm long, to 1.4 mm wide; lamina pinnately branched, with one or more consecutive storeys of pinna pairs arising from each side of the terminal rachis bud; rachis stramineous to greenish, adaxially somewhat flattened, to 4 mm in diameter, initially densely set with scales similar to those on the stipe; pinnae reniform in outline, to 4 times pseudo-dichotomously branched, with a dormant bud in the axil of each bifurcation, pinna branches all variously pinnatifid, pectinate; pinna-rachis branches stramineous, adaxially shallowly sulcate; ultimate branches adaxially convex, moderately scaled adaxially and abaxially, scales chartaceus, ferrugineus, sessile or short-stalked, linear to lanceolate, long-fimbriate, to 1.6 mm long, to 1 mm wide; segments herbaceous, green adaxially, paler green or glaucous abaxially, linear-acute to linear-obtuse, entire, to 21 mm long, to 3 mm wide, glabrous adaxially, abaxially with stramineous, sessile or short-stalked, long-fimbriate scales. Venation catadromous, evident, pinnately branched or forked, simple at the segment apex. Sori superficial, several pairs on each segment, medial on acroscopic vein branches, with 1-4 sporangia in each sorus, exindusiate. Sporangium stalk multiseriate, short, annulus oblique, complete. Spores monolete, granulate. Figure 10D & E.
Habitat
Ecology: Terrestrial or epilithic, on moist or seasonally moist stream banks, among boulders and in rock crevices on low cliffs in submontane grasslands, often in full sun. Not edaphically bound. Geophyte, mesophyte; fronds mesomorphic, long-lived. Vegetative reproduction by the wide-creeping, many-branched subterranean rhizome. Seasonal pattern apparently nonexistent, fertile material collected in February and August. Pyrophytic.
Range
Distribution: Sporadic in the mountainous north-western part of Swaziland, occurring at altitudes ranging between 900 and 1 520 m. Gleichenia umbraculifera is confined to the eastern parts of south tropical Africa and southern Africa.
Date Updated: 19 August 2007
Herbarium
South African National Biodiversity Institute, Compton Herbarium, Cape Town (SAM)
Collection
Swaziland ferns and fern allies
Resource Type
Reference Sources
Entry From
Swaziland Ferns and Fern Allies, (2003) Author: J.P. Roux
Names
Gleichenia umbraculifera (Kunze) T.Moore [family GLEICHENIACEAE]
Common names
umbraculifera = umbrella-bearing
Vernacular names: Umbrella coral fern; Sambreel varing (Afr.)
Information
Plants terrestrial. Rhizome rooting at irregular intervals, wide-creeping, irregularly branched, corneus, castaneus, to 4 mm in diameter, initially closely set with scales, glabrous later, scales chartaceus, ferrugineus, lanceolate, cordate to cordate-imbricate, fimbriate, to 5.5 mm long, to 1.2 mm wide. Fronds spaced, to 50 mm apart, erect to scandent, with indeterminate growth; stipe firm, proximally castaneus, stramineous higher up, proximally terete, higher up slightly flattened adaxially, to 1.06 m long, to 4 mm in diameter, initially closely set with scales, glabrous later, scales chartaceus, ferrugineus, lanceolate, ovate-cordate, fimbriate, to 5 mm long, to 1.4 mm wide; lamina pinnately branched, with one or more consecutive storeys of pinna pairs arising from each side of the terminal rachis bud; rachis stramineous to greenish, adaxially somewhat flattened, to 4 mm in diameter, initially densely set with scales similar to those on the stipe; pinnae reniform in outline, to 4 times pseudo-dichotomously branched, with a dormant bud in the axil of each bifurcation, pinna branches all variously pinnatifid, pectinate; pinna-rachis branches stramineous, adaxially shallowly sulcate; ultimate branches adaxially convex, moderately scaled adaxially and abaxially, scales chartaceus, ferrugineus, sessile or short-stalked, linear to lanceolate, long-fimbriate, to 1.6 mm long, to 1 mm wide; segments herbaceous, green adaxially, paler green or glaucous abaxially, linear-acute to linear-obtuse, entire, to 21 mm long, to 3 mm wide, glabrous adaxially, abaxially with stramineous, sessile or short-stalked, long-fimbriate scales. Venation catadromous, evident, pinnately branched or forked, simple at the segment apex. Sori superficial, several pairs on each segment, medial on acroscopic vein branches, with 1-4 sporangia in each sorus, exindusiate. Sporangium stalk multiseriate, short, annulus oblique, complete. Spores monolete, granulate. Figure 10D & E.
Habitat
Ecology: Terrestrial or epilithic, on moist or seasonally moist stream banks, among boulders and in rock crevices on low cliffs in submontane grasslands, often in full sun. Not edaphically bound. Geophyte, mesophyte; fronds mesomorphic, long-lived. Vegetative reproduction by the wide-creeping, many-branched subterranean rhizome. Seasonal pattern apparently nonexistent, fertile material collected in February and August. Pyrophytic.
Range
Distribution: Sporadic in the mountainous north-western part of Swaziland, occurring at altitudes ranging between 900 and 1 520 m. Gleichenia umbraculifera is confined to the eastern parts of south tropical Africa and southern Africa.
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