Species

Aleuritopteris - Sinopteridaceae

Aleuritopteris welwitschii (Baker) Ching

Photo: P. Ballings
Zimbabwe

Synonyms	Cheilanthes mossambicensis Schelpe Cheilanthes welwitschii Hook. ex Baker Cheilanthes lutea sensu Kuhn
Common name
Description	Rhizome creeping, branching, up to 2 mm in diameter; rhizome scales linear-lanceolate in outline, up to 3 mm long, dark-brown. Fronds monomorphic, closely spaced, about 5-10 mm apart, erect, 28-40 cm tall, subcoriaceous. Stipe up to 24 cm long, purple brown to castaneous, glossy, with scattered pale brown lanceolate scales basally and occasionally yellow powder near the base, especially when young. Lamina 2 to 3-pinnatifid, lanceolate to narrowly ovate in outline, up to 25 × 20 cm; pinnae 5-7 pairs, widely spaced, ovate-lanceolate in outline, petiolate or subsessile, 1.5-4 x 0.5-3.5 cm, dark green above, covered with pale yellow to orange powder beneath, subglabrous; ultimate lobes narrowly oblong in outline, margins crenate; rhachis brown; venation evident above, well branched. Sori minute, marginal, continuous; indusium narrow, lacerate.
Notes	The powdery underside makes it easy to distinguish this fern from other species. A. farinosa has a short, erect rhizome and a black stipe.
Derivation	welwitschii: named after the Austrian botanist, Friedrich Martin Welwitsch (1806-1872)
Habitat	Rock crevices and outcrops in deciduous miombo woodland.
Distribution worldwide	See African distribution.
Distribution in Africa	Angola , Malawi , Mozambique , Tanzania , Zimbabwe .
Growth form	Lithophytic, terrestrial.
Literature	Burrows, J.E. (1990) Southern African Ferns and Fern Allies. Frandsen, Sandton. Pages 154 - 155. Jacobsen, W.B.G. (1983) The Ferns and Fern Allies of Southern Africa. Butterworths, Durban and Pretoria. Pages 248 - 249. As Cheilanthes mossambicensis. (Includes a picture). Roux, J.P. (2009) Synopsis of the Lycopodiophyta and Pteridophyta of Africa, Madagascar and neighbouring islands. Strelitzia 23, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria. Page 179. Roux, J.P. (2001) Conspectus of Southern African Pteridophyta.Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report, 13 Page 68. Schelpe, E.A.C.L.E. (1970) Pteridophyta.Flora Zambesiaca, 0 Page 123. As Cheilanthes mossambicensis. Verdcourt, B. (2002) Adiantaceae.Flora of Tropical East Africa, Page 32. As cheilanthes mossambicensis.