''Gleichenia polypodioides'' (L.)

Sm. __NOTOC__ Sir James Edward Smith (2 December 1759 – 17 March 1828) was an English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society. Early life and education Smith was born in Norwich in 1759, the son of a wealthy wool merchant. He displayed a ...

, commonly known as coral fern, kystervaring ('kyster' meaning 'coastal' and of possible Scandinavian derivation) or ystervaring (meaning 'iron fern' in

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

) due to its glabrous, brown, wiry stipes. The species is widespread in south- and east tropical Africa, southern Africa and the western Indian Ocean region. It occurs naturally in a broad coastal belt in

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and

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, and was first described by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

in 1771 under the name ''Onoclea polypodioides''. Often forming dense and impenetrable thickets, sometimes over large areas, this

rhizomatous In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

perennial is an important pioneer in disturbed areas such as pine plantations. It is often mistakenly seen as an exotic invader rather than as a useful rehabilitation plant, a source of

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

and growing medium, while showing exceptional resistance to herbicides. The genus is named after the German botanist W.F. von Gleichen, while "''polypodioides''" denotes a resemblance to ''

Polypodium ''Polypodium'' is a genus of ferns in the family Polypodiaceae, subfamily Polypodioideae, according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). The genus is widely distributed throughout the world, with the highest ...

'' which also has sori sunk into the frond surface. ''Gleichenia polypodioides'' is one of 12 species in the genus, and occurs on sheltered rocks and slopes, along stream- and earthbanks, on road embankments and other disturbed areas, in cool regions of high rainfall or frequent mist, on sites enjoying full sun or light shade. In the subtropics it occurs at elevations from 1,220 to 1,870 m,''Flora Zambesiaca'', Kew
/ref> but in South Africa it is present near sea level.

Synonyms

*''Calymella polypodioides'' (L.) Ching *''Gleichenia argentea'' Kaulf. *''Gleichenia glauca'' Sw. *''Mertensia caeruleo-glauca'' Poir. *''Onoclea polypodioides'' L.

References

External links

Map showing South African distributionSouth African National Biodiversity Institute, Compton HerbariumGallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5567511 polypodioides