Blotiella natalensis (Hook.) R.M. Tryon

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Picture: Petra Ballings
SRGH

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Synonyms:	Lonchitis natalensis Hook. Lonchitis pubescens Willd. ex Kaulf. var. nudiuscula Kunze Lonchitis pubescens sensu Sim Pteris natalensis (Hook.) Kuhn
Common names:
Frequency:
Status:	Native
Description:	Rhizome erect, massive, forms a caudex up to 20 cm in diameter. Fronds tufted, arching, up to 3m long. Stipe up to 1 m, straw-coloured, sparsely set with short scales. Lamina up to 2 m long, ovate in outline, 2- to 3-pinnatifid and hairy on both surfaces. Pinnae increasingly deeply incised from the apex to the base with shallowly lobed pinnules. Sori circular to crescent-shaped, situated at the base of the sinuses between the pinnules; indusium present.
Type location:
Notes:	Differs from B. glabra by having an erect, stem-like rhizome and fronds that are up to 3 m long. Tectaria gemmifera has laminal sori and buds or plantlets on the rhachis or costae.
Derivation of specific name:	natalensis: of Natal, South Africa from where W.J. Hooker first described this fern in 1851.
Habitat:	Near shaded streambanks or in seepage zones in evergreen forest.
Altitude range:
Worldwide distribution:	Widespread in Africa and Madagascan region.
Zambian distribution (Flora Zambesiaca):	W,C
Zambian distribution (Provinces):	C
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 100 - 102. (Includes a picture). Burrows, J.E. & Burrows, S.M. (1993). An annotated check-list of the pteridophytes of Malawi Kirkia 14(1) Page 85. Burrows, J.E. & Willis, C.K. (eds) (2005). Plants of the Nyika Plateau Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 31 SABONET, Pretoria Page 27. (Includes a picture). Chapano, C. & Mamuto, M. (2003). Plants of the Chimanimani District National Herbarium and Botanic Garden, Zimbabwe Page 9. Crouch, N.R., Klopper, R.R., Burrows, J.E. & Burrows, S.M. (2011). Ferns of Southern Africa, A comprehensive guide Struik Nature Pages 290 - 291. (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 10. 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 305 - 306. (Includes a picture). Kornas, J. (1979). Distribution and ecology of the Pteridophytes in Zambia Polska Akademia Nauk Wydzial II Nauk Biologicznych Page 86. 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 6. Roux, J.P. (2001). Conspectus of Southern African Pteridophyta. Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report 13 Page 92. Roux, J.P. (2009). Synopsis of the Lycopodiophyta and Pteridophyta of Africa, Madagascar and neighbouring islands Page 109. Schelpe, E.A.C.L.E. (1970). Pteridophyta Flora Zambesiaca Pages 82 - 84. Timberlake, J.R., Bayliss, J., Dowsett-Lemaire, F., Congdon, C., Branch, B., Collins, S., Curran, M., Dowsett, R,J., Fishpool, L., Francisco, J., Harris, Kopp, M. & de Sousa, C. (2012). Mt Mabu, Mozambique: Biodiversity and Conservation Report produced under the Darwin Initiative Award 15/036. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London Page 71. Wursten, B., Timberlake, J. & Darbyshire, I. (2017). The Chimanimani Mountains: an updated checklist. Kirkia 19(1) Page 78.

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