Dryopteris schimperiana (Hochst.) C.Chr.

Dryopteridaceae, JP Roux, M Shaffer-Fehre, B Verdcourt. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 2007

Type

Ethiopia, Scholoda Mts, Schimper 6 (B?, holo.; BM!, H, K! (2 sheets), M! (2 sheets), iso.)

Morphology General Habit

Plants terrestrial.

Vegetative Multiplication Rhizomes

Rhizome short-decumbent, up to 18 mm in diameter, with crowded stipe bases and scales up to 35 × 5 mm, brown to ferrugineus, linear to narrowly lanceolate, with scattered oblong glands, and irregularly set with long twisted filiform outgrowths

Morphology Leaves

Fronds tufted, 5–7 per plant, erect to arching, up to 1.6 m long.

Morphology Leaves Stipes

Stipe proximally castaneous, stramineous to greenish higher up, up to 87 cm long and 8 mm in diameter, proximally densely scaly, scales higher up fugaceous, larger scales up to 22 × 3 mm, narrowly lanceolate to filiform, irregularly set with long, twisted, pluricellular filiform outgrowths, often also with oblong glands.

Morphology Leaves Leaf lamina

Lamina firmly herbaceous, ovate to broadly ovate, up to 73 × 45 cm, up to 3-pinnate.

Morphology Leaves Rachis

Rachis stramineous, with scales up to 8 × 1.2 mm, glabrescent.

Morphology Leaves Pinnae

Pinnae in up to 14 stalked pairs, basal pair mostly basiscopically developed, inaequilaterally ovate to narrowly ovate, narrowly ovate to oblong-acuminate towards lamina apex, basal pair longest, up to 23 × 14.5 cm, with up to 10 stalked pinnule pairs; pinnarachis narrowly winged distally, abaxially initially with scales up to 6 × 1 mm; pinnules oblong-acuminate to narrowly trullate, obtuse, lobed, to 1-Pinnate, acroscopic pinnule on basal pinnae up to 72 × 19 mm, basiscopic pinnule on basal pinnae up to 84 × 22 mm, rarely with up to 2 stalked segment pairs; costa adaxially shallowly sulcate, narrowly winged, variously set with scales and isocytic hairs; segments and lobes inaequilaterally oblong-obtuse to oblong-acute, basiscopically decurrent, up to 10 × 5 mm, shallowly obtusely dentate or serrate, adaxially glabrous or with few hairs or scales, abaxially sparsely to moderately set with scales and hairs, scales similar, but smaller than those on pinna-rachis, hairs up to 1 mm long

Morphology Reproductive morphology Sori

Sori circular, inframedial, discrete, or the sporangia often touching at maturity, up to 2 mm in diameter; sporangium stalk simple, with a single glandular cell, or haired; indusium persistent, brown to ferrugineous, reniform and strongly revolute, entire or glandular along margin, up to 2 mm in diameter

Morphology Reproductive morphology Spores

Spores with low reticulate ridges and bulges, rugose to ruminate, (32–)41(–52) × (22–)28(–34) mm

Ecology

Evergreen montane and riverine forest, bamboo, Hagenia and giant heath zone; 1400–3000 m

Conservation

Widespread; least concern (LC)

Note

Vida, in Helv. Chim. Acta 56: 2130 (1973) report the species as diploid: 2n = ± 82.

Distribution

Flora districts: U2 K3 T2 T6 T7 Range: Congo-Kinshasa, Rwanda, Burundi, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Malawi