| Home | > | List of families | > | Isoetaceae | > | Isoetes | > | aequinoctialis |
| Synonyms: |
Calamaria aequinoctialis (Welw. ex A.Braun) Kuntze Isoetes erongensis Wanntorp |
| Common names: | |
| Frequency: | |
| Status: | Native |
| Description: |
Pseudo-corm 3-lobed, 5-10 mm in diameter; bud scales brownish, thin, papery, often absent. Leaves 10-20, pale green, stiff, 40-350 mm × 1-1.5 mm, apex abruptly pointed, triangular in cross-section, initially with broad membranous margin about 3 mm wide above the sporangia. Ligule often 3-lobed, deltate, tapering to a point. Velum covering lower half of the sporangia or reduced to a marginal ring less than 1 mm wide. Sporangia 3-7 × 1.5-3 mm. Megaspores of two sizes, about 0.5 and 0.35 mm, greyish when dry, upper face finely granular or minutely verrucose, lower with widely spaced papillae or granules. |
| Notes: | I. alstonii is distinguished from I. aequinoctialis by its 2-lobed pseudo-corm. I. schweinfurthii is separated from I. aequinoctialis by lacking a velum. |
| Derivation of specific name: | aequinoctialis: of the equinox, a term used for flowers that open or close at stated hours. Obscure reference, it may refer to the time of year when this plant was first collected in Angola by F.M.J. Welwitsch. |
| Habitat: | Terrestrial, in perennial streams and seasonally waterlogged sites overlying granite sheetrock. |
| Altitude range: (metres) | 1225 - 1350 m |
| Worldwide distribution: | Angola, Ghana, Mali, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe |
| Zimbabwe 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. (1990). Southern African Ferns and Fern Allies. Frandsen, Sandton. Pages 33 - 34. (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 66 - 67. (Includes a picture). Jacobsen, W.B.G. (1983). The Ferns and Fern Allies of Southern Africa. Butterworths, Durban and Pretoria. Pages 155 - 156. (Includes a picture). Kornas, J. (1979). Distribution and ecology of the Pteridophytes in Zambia Polska Akademia Nauk Wydzial II Nauk Biologicznych Pages 34 - 35. 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 7. Roux, J.P. (2001). Conspectus of Southern African Pteridophyta. Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report 13 Page 29. Roux, J.P. (2009). Synopsis of the Lycopodiophyta and Pteridophyta of Africa, Madagascar and neighbouring islands Page 8. Schelpe, E.A.C.L.E. (1970). Pteridophyta Flora Zambesiaca Pages 30 - 32. |
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