Christella gueinziana (Mett.) Holttum

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Photo: Petra Ballings
La Rochelle Botanic Garden, Penhalonga

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Synonyms:	Aspidium gueinziana Mett. Dryopteris gueinziana (Mett.) C.Chr. Lastrea gueinziana (Mett.) T.Moore Nephrodium gueinzianum (Mett.) Hieron Thelypteris gueinziana (Mett.) Schelpe
Common names:
Frequency:
Status:	Native
Description:	Rhizome erect, c. 20 mm in diameter; rhizome scales up to 4 mm long, brown, broadly lanceolate, entire. Fronds tufted, arching, not proliferous, herbaceous to subcoriaceous. Stipe up to 50 cm long, pale brown, thinly set with minute white hairs and with brown scales near the base. Lamina up to 1.2 × 0.45 m but average half this size, ovate-lanceolate in outline, 2-pinnatifid, basal pinnae gradually reduced and deflexed but not forming a series of much-reduced pinnae down the stipe. Pinnae narrowly oblong, attenuate, pinnatifid, ultimate lobes narrowly oblong, slightly falcate, apex acute to sharply rounded; both surfaces thinly set with hairs, more so along the costae and costules; veins 1 pair meeting in the sinus between the lobes. Rhachis pale brown, thinly pilose. Sori round, up to 16 per lobe; indusia subcircular to kidney-shaped with slender white hairs.
Notes:	Christella guenziana closely resembles C. chaseana but the latter has a creeping rhizome. C. gueinziana look for: erect rhizome, basal pinnae reducing, 1 pair of veins meeting at the sinus.
Derivation of specific name:	gueinziana: named after Wilhelm Gueinzius (1814-1874), German apothecary and naturalist in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Habitat:	Shaded or exposed stream- and riverbanks in open grassland and forest.
Altitude range: (metres)	Up to 1700 m
Worldwide distribution:	Angola, Burundi, DRC, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Eswatini, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe distribution:	N,W,C,E,S
Growth form(s):	Lithophyte, terrestrial.
Endemic status:
Red data list status:
Insects associated with this species:
Spot characters:	Display spot characters for this species
Images last updated:	Wednesday 8 March 2023
Literature:	Burrows, J.E. (1990). Southern African Ferns and Fern Allies. Frandsen, Sandton. Page 266. As Thelypteris gueinziana (Includes a picture). Burrows, J.E. & Burrows, S.M. (1993). An annotated check-list of the pteridophytes of Malawi Kirkia 14(1) Page 95. Chapano, C. & Mamuto, M. (2003). Plants of the Chimanimani District National Herbarium and Botanic Garden, Zimbabwe Page 55. As Thelypteris gueinziana Chapano, C. & Mugarisanwa, N.H. (2003). Plants of the Matobo District National Herbarium and Botanic Garden, Zimbabwe Page 35. As Thelypteris gueinziana Crouch, N.R., Klopper, R.R., Burrows, J.E. & Burrows, S.M. (2011). Ferns of Southern Africa, A comprehensive guide Struik Nature Pages 692 - 693. (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 15. 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 26. As Thelypteris gueinziana Jacobsen, W.B.G. (1983). The Ferns and Fern Allies of Southern Africa. Butterworths, Durban and Pretoria. Pages 391 - 392. (Includes a picture). Kornas, J. (1979). Distribution and ecology of the Pteridophytes in Zambia Polska Akademia Nauk Wydzial II Nauk Biologicznych Page 91. As Thelypteris gueinziana 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 10. Roux, J.P. (2001). Conspectus of Southern African Pteridophyta. Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report 13 Page 121. Roux, J.P. (2009). Synopsis of the Lycopodiophyta and Pteridophyta of Africa, Madagascar and neighbouring islands Page 203. Schelpe, E.A.C.L.E. (1970). Pteridophyta Flora Zambesiaca Page 194. As Thelypteris gueinziana Wursten, B., Timberlake, J. & Darbyshire, I. (2017). The Chimanimani Mountains: an updated checklist. Kirkia 19(1) Page 80. As Christella cf. gueinziana

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Flora of Burundi: Christella gueinziana
Flora of Malawi: Christella gueinziana
Flora of Mozambique: Christella gueinziana
Flora of Rwanda: Christella gueinziana
Flora of Zambia: Christella gueinziana

External websites:

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