Polypodiaceae
Triplophyllum

Triplophyllum protensum (Afzel. ex Sw.) Holttum

First published in Kew Bull. 41: 247 (1986)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is W. Tropical Africa to Uganda. It grows primarily in the wet tropical biome.

Descriptions

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

Type
Sierra Leone, Afzelius s.n. (S, holo.)
Morphology General Habit
Terrestrial.
Vegetative Multiplication Rhizomes
Rhizome long-creeping, 3–5 mm in diameter, with dense overlapping gland-tipped broadly triangular scales 1–2 × 1 mm
Morphology Leaves
Fronds spaced 0.5–3.5 cm apart, erect.
Morphology Leaves Stipes
Stipe brown, 18–55 cm long, base with lanceolate scales 4–5 × 0.4–1 mm, upper part with dense fine ctenitoid / catenate hairs 1–2 mm long, glabrescent.
Morphology Leaves Leaf lamina
Lamina dark green above, yellowish green below, thin to sub-coriaceous, deltoid-pentagonal in outline, with wide basal pinna pair strongly curving upwards, 18–36 × 15–32 cm, 3–4 pinnatifid.
Morphology Leaves Rachis
Rachis not winged, grooved almost to apex.
Morphology Leaves Pinnae
Pinnae up to ± 12 on each side of the rachis, apex gradually decrescent, pinnae closely aligned, not overlapping; basal pinna to 26 × 13 cm, with well-developed basiscopic pinnule; second pair shorter and less pinnatifid, central pinnae to 12 × 4 cm, 1-Pinnate except for the basal pinnules which are 2-Pinnatifid; ultimate segments of central pinnae to slightly falcate, 7 mm wide, crenate to entire, apex obtuse; margin of lamina framed by single line of achlorophyllous cells.
Morphology Leaves Leaf veins
Veins and veinlets forked, not reaching margin; indument on abaxial surface sparse, denser on venation, of ctenitoid hairs 0.4–1.3 mm long, on adaxial surface with only a few trichomes 1–2 mm long near forks of veins
Morphology Reproductive morphology Sori
Sori submedian, near tip of acroscopic lateral veinlet, 1–1.5 mm in diameter; indusium kidneyshaped with lateral notch, 0.8 mm in diameter, from notch lines of square cells fan out, almost every second cell tipped by glandular hair ± 4 cells long; spores monolete, oval, 0.04 mm long, exospore with crest of few, blunt spines
Figures
Figure 3: 1-5
Ecology
Moist forest, especially along streams and waterfalls where it may be gregarious; 1100–1200 m
Conservation
Widely distributed; least concern (LC)
Distribution
Flora districts: U2 U4 Range: Widely distributed in West Africa; Madagascar
[FTEA]

Aspidiaceae, A. H. G. Alston. Flora of West Tropical Africa. Ferns and Fern-Allies Supplement. 1959

Ecology
Damp shady places on ground and rocks, in forest and plantations; at low elevations.
[FWTA]

Uses

Use
None recorded
[FTEA]

Sources

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of West Tropical Africa

    • Flora of West Tropical Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0