Aleuritopteris welwitschii (Baker) Ching

Selected images: Click on each image to see a larger version and details of the record View all images (4)

Photo: Petra Ballings
Ngomakurira, Chinhamora CL.

Detailed records: Display species records QDS maps by: Google Maps Point records by Google Maps

Species details: Click on each item to see an explanation of that item (Note: opens a new window)

Synonyms:	Cheilanthes lutea sensu Kuhn Cheilanthes mossambicensis Schelpe Cheilanthes welwitschii Hook. ex Baker
Common names:
Frequency:	Rare
Status:	Native
Description:	Rhizome creeping, branching, up to 2 mm in diameter, rhizome scales dark-brown, 1-2 mm in length. Fronds closely spaced, about 5 mm apart, erect. Stipe brown to castaneous, glossy, up to 24 cm long, with scattered pale brown lanceolate scales basally and occasionally yellow powder near the base, especially when young. Lamina lanceolate to narrowly ovate in outline, up to 250 × 200 mm, 2 to 3-pinnatifid; pinnae widely spaced, subglabrous, dark green above, covered with pale yellow to orange powder beneath. Pinnae pinnatifid, petiolate or subsessile, ovate-lanceolate; ultimate lobes narrowly oblong, margins crenate. Rhachis brown. Sori 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 of specific name:	welwitschii: named after the Austrian botanist, Friedrich Martin Welwitsch (1806-1872)
Habitat:	Rock crevices and outcrops in deciduous miombo woodland.
Altitude range: (metres)	550 - 1540 m
Worldwide distribution:	Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe distribution:	N,C
Growth form(s):	Lithophyte, terrestrial.
Endemic status:
Red data list status:	Endangered
Insects associated with this species:
Spot characters:	Display spot characters for this species
Images last updated:	Sunday 15 June 2014
Literature:	Burrows, J.E. (1990). Southern African Ferns and Fern Allies. Frandsen, Sandton. Pages 154 - 155. Golding, J.S. (ed.) (2002). Zimbabwe Plant Red Data List. Southern African Plant Red Data Lists. SABONET 14 Page 168. Jacobsen, W.B.G. (1983). The Ferns and Fern Allies of Southern Africa. Butterworths, Durban and Pretoria. Pages 248 - 249. As C. mossambicensis (Includes a picture). 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 9. Roux, J.P. (2001). Conspectus of Southern African Pteridophyta. Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report 13 Page 68. Roux, J.P. (2009). Synopsis of the Lycopodiophyta and Pteridophyta of Africa, Madagascar and neighbouring islands Page 179. Schelpe, E.A.C.L.E. (1970). Pteridophyta Flora Zambesiaca Page 123. As C. mossambicensis

Other sources of information about Aleuritopteris welwitschii:

Our websites:

Flora of Malawi: Aleuritopteris welwitschii
Flora of Mozambique: Aleuritopteris welwitschii

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Aleuritopteris welwitschii
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Aleuritopteris welwitschii
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Aleuritopteris welwitschii
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Aleuritopteris welwitschii
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Aleuritopteris welwitschii
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Aleuritopteris welwitschii
JSTOR Plant Science: Aleuritopteris welwitschii
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Aleuritopteris welwitschii
Plants of the World Online: Aleuritopteris welwitschii
Tropicos: Aleuritopteris welwitschii
Wikipedia: Aleuritopteris welwitschii