Pteris dentata Forssk.

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Photo: Petra Ballings
Davies property, Vumba

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Synonyms:	Pteris arguta Aiton Pteris ascensionensis Sw. Pteris dentata Forssk. var. flabellata (Thunb.) Runemark Pteris flabellata Thunb.
Common names:
Frequency:
Status:	Native
Description:	Rhizome erect to procumbent, up to 10 mm in diameter; rhizome scales linear-lanceolate, dark brown, shiny, up to 5 mm long. Fronds tufted, arching, herbaceous, up to 1.2 m high. Stipe up to 50 cm long, strawcoloured, darker and with few scattered scales towards the base, glabrous. Lamina up to 1 × 0.8 m, deltoid to ovate in outline, usually 2- to 3-pinnatifid but variable, basal pinnae basiscopically developed; ultimate lobes linear, apices toothed, base unequally united to the costa, margins toothed except for the fertile lobes which have entire margins along the sori; veins free, no veins anastomosing below the sinus; glabrous on both surfaces, spines present at the vein junctions on the uppersurface only. Rhachis strawcoloured, glabrous, smooth. Sori linear, continuous, marginal; indusia entire, membranous.
Notes:	Can be distinguished from Pteris buchananii which has a widely creeping rhizome and anastomosing veins below the sinus; Pteris catoptera and Pteris friesii have ultimate lobes with entire apex margins.
Derivation of specific name:	dentata: toothed, referring to the serrate margins of the ultimate lobes of the lamina.
Habitat:	Shade on forest floor.
Altitude range: (metres)	Up to 1600 m
Worldwide distribution:	South Africa, central and eastern tropical Africa up to NE Africa and Arabia, Fernando Po, Ascension I., St. Helena, Cape Verde Is., Mascarene Is. and Madagascar
Zimbabwe distribution:	E
Growth form(s):	Terrestrial.
Endemic status:
Red data list status:
Insects associated with this species:
Spot characters:	Display spot characters for this species
Images last updated:	Sunday 2 December 2012
Literature:	Burrows, J.E. (1990). Southern African Ferns and Fern Allies. Frandsen, Sandton. Pages 160 - 161. (Includes a picture). Burrows, J.E. & Burrows, S.M. (1993). An annotated check-list of the pteridophytes of Malawi Kirkia 14(1) Page 87. Burrows, J.E. & Willis, C.K. (eds) (2005). Plants of the Nyika Plateau Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 31 SABONET, Pretoria Page 40. (Includes a picture). Chapano, C. & Mamuto, M. (2003). Plants of the Chimanimani District National Herbarium and Botanic Garden, Zimbabwe Page 46. Crouch, N.R., Klopper, R.R., Burrows, J.E. & Burrows, S.M. (2011). Ferns of Southern Africa, A comprehensive guide Struik Nature Pages 320 - 321. (Includes a picture). Da Silva, M.C., Izidine, S. & Amude, A.B. (2004). A preliminary checklist of the vascular plants of Mozambique. Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 30 Sabonet, Pretoria Page 14. Dowsett-Lemaire, F. (1989). The flora and phytogeography of the evergreen forests of Malawi. I: Afromontane and mid-altitude forests; Bull. Jard. Bot. Nat. Belg. 59(1/2) Page 25. Jacobsen, W.B.G. (1983). The Ferns and Fern Allies of Southern Africa. Butterworths, Durban and Pretoria. Pages 239 - 240. (Includes a picture). Kornas, J. (1979). Distribution and ecology of the Pteridophytes in Zambia Polska Akademia Nauk Wydzial II Nauk Biologicznych Page 69. 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 79. (Includes a picture). Roux, J.P. (2009). Synopsis of the Lycopodiophyta and Pteridophyta of Africa, Madagascar and neighbouring islands Pages 171 - 172. Schelpe, E.A.C.L.E. (1970). Pteridophyta Flora Zambesiaca Pages 117 - 118.

Other sources of information about Pteris dentata:

Our websites:

Flora of Burundi: Pteris dentata
Flora of Malawi: Pteris dentata
Flora of Mozambique: Pteris dentata
Flora of Rwanda: Pteris dentata
Flora of Zambia: Pteris dentata

External websites:

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